Mahindra Electric has now officially teased its upcoming quadricycle, the Atom. As the name suggests, Atom happens to be a pretty compact vehicle, which can seat 4 including driver. Mahindra intends to promote the product for last-mile connectivity. The same was spied on test by automotive enthusiast Sudharsan in Chennai.
Mahindra is planning to launch the Atom sometime this year, most likely around Diwali festive season. Atom will be one its type electric quadricycle. It won’t have any direct competition upon launch (unless Bajaj launches Qute electric). The quadricycle market in the country is just warming up with very limited products at the moment. The delay can majorly attributed to country’s norms and regulations which prohibited the launch of quadricycles for a long time.
In the pre-Covid world, quadricycles seemed to have a huge potential as last mile connectivity options or as feeder services for larger transport systems like Metros etc. However, with the global pandemic sweeping across all major urban clusters, it remains to be seen how commuters will respond to shared mobility solutions in the future. Below is the teaser video of Atom shared by Mahindra.
ATOM is a new-age electric urban mobility solution, designed especially for Smart India’s last-mile commute needs….
Posted by Mahindra Group on Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Talking about the Atom, it will most likely be powered by a 15 kW electric motor and will come along with a battery pack. The concept which Mahindra had showcased earlier had a swappable battery pack. The same functionality could be available in the production-ready version too. Overall speed limit of the Atom will be 70 km/h.
As far as looks are concerned, the Atom frankly looks very small. It has an upright boxy structure with curved edges. It gets triple-pod tail lamps at the rear and reflector strips on the bumpers. It will have a unique 2-door configuration, one for the driver and other one for the passengers.
While wheel size hasn’t been confirmed officially, the wheels do look a little too small for the overall vehicle, adding to a disproportionate feel. As it will be a product aimed at cost effectiveness, Mahindra will be employing steel rims and not an alloy wheel setup.
Post launch, we believe that some of the first customers could be fleet owners who are majorly operating in the last mile connectivity area. There are multiple start-ups who are working in the field of e-mobility and already have products like e-bike sharing etc. in some of the key metros. However, considering the business conditions in the last few months, most organizations would be cautious of heavy investments in the near term. It will be interesting to see how Indian customers respond to country’s first electric quadricycle.
Source: Electric - rushlane.com
