HM Ambassador EV is Cheaper to Run Than Honda Activa, Can Tow a Truck!

The popularity of electric vehicles is slowly and steadily increasing in a few international markets, mainly in US, Canada, and Europe. There are plenty of benefits of owning one, including cheap running cost, government subsidies and /or tax rebates, and the lack of pollutants exiting the car’s engine. While the EV solution isn’t completely sustainable at the moment, it is still a brilliant step in the right direction.  The Government of India has also taken steps to ensure that electric cars will soon become popular with the masses, but affordability and lack of EV infrastructures play spoilsport. Thankfully, some people are taking the initiative to build affordable and relatively-sustainable solutions, like this electric Hindustan Ambassador.

Hindustan Ambassador (electric car conversion) towing a truck | He-Man Auto Robopark Pvt Ltd

The video above was posted on the YouTube channel ‘He-Man Auto Robopark Pvt Ltd’, the official channel of He-Man Group of Companies, a Kerala based private venture. The company has managed to build a conversion kit for Hindustan Ambassador. While still in the prototype stage, the electric powertrain is capable of generating maximum power of 53 Bhp and a massive peak torque of 275 Nm. The top speed of the car is claimed to be 120 kmph, while accelerating from 0 to 60 kmph takes 12 seconds.

Also Read: This Electric Car from Mahindra Costs less than half of Tata Nexon EV

While performance isn’t that impressive, the massive torque is useful in other ways. The car is powerful enough to tow a Bharat Benz truck (as seen in the video), which weighs around 6.5 metric tons and has a payload of 8 metric tons, bringing the total weight to 14.5 metric tons or 14,500 kg. Extremely impressive to say the least!

Also Read: Hyundai Santro Electric To Take On Maruti WagonR EV

While major carmakers choose to use Lithium-ion batteries in their cars, the team at He-Man Group decided to go with conventional Lead-Acid batteries instead. While the former has a better charge density and offers better range and performance, the latter is much more affordable while also being relatively more sustainable. The conversion kit uses a total of 22 batteries to form a 20kW source.

Also Read: Mahindra Group Unveils World's First Electric GT Hypercar

The driving range claimed by the company is 100 km, with a running cost of around only Re. 1 per kilometre. In comparison, a Honda Activa, when ridden lightly, can manage to return up to 50 kmpl. By rounding off the petrol price to Rs. 70 per litre, we get a running cost of Rs. 1.4 per km. The cost of this prototype conversion kit was nearly Rs. 6 lakh, but the regular production kits will cost less. Similar kits should also be available soon for other vehicles as well.

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