This Chevrolet Beat Runs on Electricity

Electric vehicles are the future of mobility, although that future is a little far away at the moment. EVs aren't as affordable as their petrol- or diesel-powered counterparts, especially in India. That, however, is set to change. If you are interested in an electric car but it is too expensive for you to afford, then worry not! Recently, an engineer has transformed his old diesel vehicle into an electric car in just INR 4 lakh. Below is a video in which he discussed the whole process and he can also be seen driving his EV in this video.

The electric Chevrolet Beat uses a 15 kW motor which can deliver a peak torque of 75 Nm. This motor helps the EV travel 110 kilometres in a single charge when you are driving with air conditioner and lights turned off, and up to 95 kilometres with these things turned on. It takes almost seven hours for the EV to be fully charged via a normal socket, and only 45 minutes by using a fast charger.

This modified Chevrolet Beat EV comes with a 15kW motor

Noteworthily, the manual gearbox on the Chevrolet diesel has been retained with the clutch removed. The MCU has been controlled in a special way to allow the gears to be shifted without the clutch.  Nevertheless, one of the shortcomings of this EV is that the battery is not waterproof, which the owner is working to develop. Like most other EVs, the vehicle is equipped with regenerative braking. The whole process is not simple, but is easy on the pocket and is very efficient. If you have an old ICE car, you can convert it into a more environmentally-friendly car instead of selling it, which helps you save a large amount of money.

Chevy Beat EV Performance Testing | Hemank Dabhade

Besides the Chevy Beat EV, the owner is also working on transforming his old Maruti 800 into an EV. It is also worth noting that these are not just conversion packages, but come with newly engineered elements. The Maruti 800 will be more modern with a longer range and an IP67 rated battery package.

Hemank claims that with just INR 4 lakh, he can transform any ICE car into an EV to a 600 BHP EV which is priced at around INR 20 lakh. Engineers like him should be encouraged so that more affordable EVs can be developed to help protect the environment in India. Currently, there are four EVs on sale in the Indian auto market: Tata Nexon EV, Tata Tigor EV, MG ZS EV and Hyundai Kona EV.

Image source: Team-BHP