‘Convert Existing Petrol Scooters to Electric Hybrid scooters‘, smiles the young Scooter Mechanic turned up an E Vehicle exponent, Mr. Lingan, Founder of E.V. Paravai, Scooter Garage, Chennai. ‘40% Low cost of ownership.
No Modification required on petrol scooters’ says Lingam.
Lingam, 45 is a reliable and known name among Two wheeler owners in the Zoo Park Town, Vandalur in the outskirts of Chennai. His garage E.V. Parava (Meaning Bird in Tamil) is a best known landmark in Chennai now among the E Vehicle enthusiasts. Lingam has the mastery to convert ordinary Petrol vehicles into an electric hybrid scooter.
As the name says ‘hybrid’, the scooter can be driven in both- electric and petrol mode selectively. There’s a possibility to convert about 4 Cr petrol scooters into hybrid scooters in India. It’s also a Positive Vehicle waste Management. Instead of buying a new EV and breaking up with fuel altogether, you could retrofit your vehicle and get the best of both worlds.
Lingam adds, “A Branded electric two-wheeler costs at least Rs 1 lakh, and a petrol-powered vehicle is priced around Rs 80,000. I thought retrofitting could be a cheaper solution that would cost around Rs 65,000. Common user has many doubts in his mind. Electric Vehicles need to be charged everyday. Life of battery is also not proven as nobody has seen the full life cycle so far. It is very difficult to convince people to buy an unbranded stuff', Lingam lists the major hurdle in this field.
Mr. Lingan,
Founder of E.V. Paravai, Scooter Garage, Chennai
Even though the kits are ARAI approved, as a whole the vehicle conversion needs the approval from Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) or The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT). This process involves about INR15.0 to 20.0 Investment. Using fast rechargeable, cost effective batteries will motivate more users to shift to EV segment’ feels Lingam.
 According to him, forming clusters of Showrooms cum Service Centers will help to Brand the Vehicle and will attract more users. A common infrastructure with all major facilities like Painting Shop, Tinkering Shop etc for Retrofitting of used vehicles will help this segment to flourish. According to Lingam, he is moving in this direction and seeks the guidance and support of think tanks of the Automobile Industries.
Apart from this we have to explore the options of Battery Banks and providing vehicles on yearly rental to delivery teams of Swiggy and Zomato etc..
One of the biggest advantages of a hybrid vehicle is it runs cleaner and environmentally friendly.
