Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) will launch a self-driven rent-a-car facility for the general public with its newly-procured electric car fleet by June 2018.
The Board has floated tenders for setting up four grid-connected solar electric vehicle-charging centers in major cities in the state. The e-cars will be rented out to the public soon after establishing the fast charging points, it was learnt.
The Board has procured six Mahindra e2o Plus electric cars, two each for Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, under its e-Mobility Project aimed at promoting the use of electric and hybrid vehicles.
The e-cars, costing Rs 10.5 lakh each, has been purchased for Rs 9.25 lakh as the Center provides a subsidy of Rs 1.2 lakh. At present, the vehicles are being used for official purposes.
Out of the six e-cars, four were purchased using the State Innovative Fund while the remaining two were procured with the funds allocated to the KSEB.
Right now, the Board is using conventional slow-charging systems that take around 6-8 hours to get the vehicle fully charged.
The e-car can cover a distance of about 80 kilometers on a single charge with the air-conditioner on.
The tender process for establishing the charging points will be completed by January 30.
The charging stations will have a facility to swap the drained-out batteries for fully-charged ones through counters.
Kochi and Kozhikode will have one station each while Thiruvananthapuram will have two — one at Vydyuthi Bhavan, the KSEB headquarters, and another at Technopark in Kazhakoottam.
In the future, these vehicles could be used for long distance journeys with the setting up of charging stations across the state, KSEB officials said.
The Board has not yet fixed the rent or charted out the guidelines for commercial operations.
Since it is self-driven rent-a-car facility, the vehicles are susceptible to being stolen.
Modalities for renting out the vehicles are expected to be finalized in six months' time.
As the sole object of the rent-a-car project is to generate public awareness on no-emission drive, the Board has no plans to purchase more e-cars in near future, officials added.