General Motors unveils a locally built prototype electric vehicle

General Motors on Wednesday unveiled a locally built prototype electric vehicle (REEV), designed exclusively for the national REEV student competition. The company said that it is a technical demonstration by the company and a concept.

The vehicle was showcased at the 37th FISITA World Automotive Congress, which was inaugurated in Chennai on Wednesday.

Unveiling the vehicle, General Motors vice president global propulsion systems, Dan Nicholson said the world-class capability at GMTC-I made it an important part of GM’s global engineering operations.

"We have designed this keeping India in our mind and it's a concept and it will be a learning platform," said Nicholoson.

Engineering is a global function for General Motors and the India design center is an integral part of it. GMTC-I houses a design studio and an engineering center.

Delhi electrician's son bags US job with annual package of $100,000

Son of an electrician from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, Mohammad Amir Ali bagged a job at an American firm with an annual package of $100,000, reported the national daily The Times of India.

According to the report by ToI, this is the highest package which has been offered to a diploma holder from Jamia. Second, among seven brothers and sisters, Ali had always been passionate about electric vehicles. Even after scoring good marks in his board examinations, he couldn't get through Jamia's BTech course for three consecutive years. He was selected for a course in architecture in NIT Jharkhand, but he couldn't join due to financial constraints. He took admission in a diploma course in mechanical engineering in Jamia in 2015 and passion for electric vehicles finally found an outlet.

According to the report, Ali has been quoted saying, "Charging infrastructure for electric vehicles is a major challenge in India. I developed a theory. If I succeed, the cost of charging vehicles will be almost zero. But initially, my teachers didn't believe me as it was a new area of work." His professor Waqar Alam realised the potential of his project and guided him through it.

Kia plans to roll out electric, hybrid vehicles in Indian markets by 2021

South Korean auto maker Kia plans to roll out electric and hybrid vehicles from its upcoming plant at Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh and is targeting to launch an electric vehicle in India by 2021, said a top company official. Kia Motors India, the wholly-owned arm of Kia Motors Corporation, has lined also up three models to be launched here in the next three years as part of its plans to enter the market. It will start with SUV, SP Concept that was showcased at the Auto Expo this year. 

"At the moment we are considering to produce electric vehicles and hybrids at our facility (at Anantpur)," Kia Motors India CEO and Managing Director Kook Hyun Shim told PTI in an interview here. The company is investing USD 1.1 billion at the plant spread over 23 million square feet. It will have a capacity to produce 3 lakh car annually and employ around 3,000 when fully operational. When asked about the company's plans for electric vehicles (EVs) for India in the backdrop of the government taking a technology agnostic approach and avoiding framing an EV policy, he said the company's approach is "very flexible".

Electric vehicle may lead to increased power demand of 160-bn units by 2030

E-mobility is likely to be a key "demand driver of electricity" and "positive for coal-based generation" and electric vehicles (EV) could result in incremental power demand of nearly 160 billion units by 2030, according to a Coal Vision 2030 document.

"It is estimated that EVs could emerge as a key segment in the overall automobile sector.
Assuming a market share of 15 per cent by 2030, EVs can result in incremental power demand of nearly 160 billion units by 2030," the study said.

Coal India Limited (CIL) has commissioned this study to assess the future demand scenarios for the coal sector up to 2030.