Currently, electric car news has been dominated lately by the Nissan Leaf with the Ford Focus EV and even the Mitsubish i waiting silently in the charging station. General Motors, who has been relentlessly pushing its Chevrolet Volt and Voltec technology, just announced its first real entry into the all-electric powered fray during World Environment Day in India in the form of the Chevrolet Beat Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV).
The Beat is a two-door subcompact hatchback originally designed at GM Daewoo. The Chevy Beat BEV used in the demonstration is powered by a lithium-ion battery pack with an energy capacity of roughly 20 kilowatts and has range of approximately 80 miles. GM India, which is showcasing the BEV, states it takes less than eight hours to recharge the battery fully using a 240V outlet.
India joins Korea, China and Germany as the latest country involved in GM’s EV demonstration program. States Karl Slym, President & Managing Director, General Motors India: “General Motors is committed to providing customers around the world with electrification technologies that will reduce their fuel consumption, helping them save money. GM India will lead in this ‘tailored for India’ demo program for battery electric technology, with Chevrolet Beat chosen as the best way to evaluate the technology. We are delighted that Chevrolet selected India as an important market to test battery electric technology, while recognizing the capabilities of our engineering team to help identify ways to make this technology more affordable.”
The production version of the Chevy Beat, which is called the Spark here in the U.S., is scheduled to arrive later this year. What do you think of an electric version sold with the standard gasoline model? Tell us in your comments below.
Source: Chevrolet India
