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      in Electric Cars

      2021 Renault Kwid Electric Debuts As Dacia Spring EV – 295 kms Drive Range

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      What will be launched in India as the Renault Kwid electric car, has been globally unveiled as the new Dacia Spring EV today
      2021 Renault Kwid Electric

      The Dacia Spring Electric small car will be launched in Europe through car sharing service first, and retail sales for private customers will begin later in 2021.
      The Dacia Spring, essentially the fully electric European-spec Renault Kwid, has been unveiled at Renault EWays event. The French automaker describes it as the most affordable electric vehicle in the old continent. The micro-crossover is expected to become the best selling Dacia in due course.

      Dacia Spring EV / 2021 Renault Kwid Electric
      The Dacia Spring carries forward the Renault Kwid’s basic design but incorporates sportier elements. The Dacia badge sits on a revised front grille which also houses sleek LED DRls. Faux skid plates, low-mounted headlamps, high ground clearance gives the compact car a crossover appeal.
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      The Dacia Spring EV is presented in the car sharing version at the Renault EWays event. Series production model will be ready for Europe next year. The profile is identical to the India-spec Renault Kwid while the rear fascia receives revised LED taillights and a new bumper with prominent silver skid plates.

      Powertrain
      The Dacia Spring EV is powered by an electric motor which is rated at 33 kW and 125 Nm of torque. The 28.6 kWh battery is claimed to offer 225 km of range as per WLTP driving cycle. As per WLTP City cycle, the vehicle has a claimed range of 295 km.
      Using the Wallbox charger, the battery can be fully charged in 4 hours and 27 minutes. The optional DC fast charging cable will allow you to charge 80% of the battery in 50 minutes using a fast charging column. The car can also be charged using domestic socket.

      Features
      The Dacia Spring EV receives a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 3.5-inch color MID, assisted and camera parking, power windows and remote lock. It also gets LED headlights and 14-inch alloy wheels.

      Launch Timeline
      The Dacia Spring will be available first through car sharing services across Europe from early 2021 with Zity being one of the launch partners. The private customers will be able to book their cars in summer 2021 with deliveries starting in spring 2021. There will also be a cargo version with 800 liters (with a payload capacity of 365 kg) of storage volume for zero emission last mile delivery.

      Coming to India?
      With the popularity of electric vehicles steadily increasing in India, the Renault Kwid EV is likely to be introduced in our market a few months after its European debut. The car will compete with the likes of Mahindra eKUV100, Maruti WagonR EV, new Citroen EV, Tata HBX EV in the domestic market. Expect price to be in the Rs 8-10 lakh range. More

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      in Electric Cars

      Renault Kwid 800cc modified into an Electric Hybrid in Kerala

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      A group of 5 mechanical engineering graduates from Kerala have been working upon modifying a Renault Kwid into a hybrid vehicle
      The group had graduated from Rajagiri School of Engineering back in 2018 and had worked upon converting a Maruti 800 into an electric vehicle (with a range of around 50km). They had displayed the modified vehicle at multiple expos and got appreciation for the same.

      Iype Koshy, a businessman from Trivandrum also came across their previous project and decided to set up a company with the group which now specializes in converting cars into hybrid vehicles and has aspirations to get into Hydrogen and Electric powered cars. The company is known as HyMotiv and their latest project involves the Renault Kwid Hybrid, which is the focus of our story.
      Powertrain
      The highlight of the project happens to be its Hybrid powertrain. The team has retained Kwid’s petrol engine but additionally added electric motors in the rear wheels to make the vehicle an hybrid. So now, the vehicle can run on petrol alone, electric power alone or a combination of both the two.

      The engine produces power like in a conventional Kwid, however the 34 hp motors in the rear wheels help with additional power output for the Kwid. All 4 wheels have been fitted with disc brakes, which help with sufficient braking power to safely maneuver the vehicle.
      The total range of the electric-only powertrain is 150 km. The battery of the project has been sourced from China but the team intends to replace it with an Indian-made battery soon. The motors and controllers have been imported from USA. Overall for the drive, the major traction comes from the electric motors which contributes to around 65% of the power output.
      A synchronizer further helps to balance the speeds between the front and rear wheels of the vehicle. Combined mileage of the powertrain stands at 48 km/l. The team also states that they have installed a pollution reduction mechanism through which they can reduce the emissions by 60% and improve the mileage by 20%. Team claims that they have already filed a patent for the same.

      The battery takes 5 hours for a complete charge via a standard wall mounted charger. On the inside, the car includes an electric motor drive selector on the dashboard. Upon start, the car automatically starts in the ICE mode and then manually needs to shifted to EV-only mode or Hybird mode, as per requirement.
      Additional Tech
      The team has also worked upon a fatigue detection system which includes smart spectacles which can detect closing of driver’s eye lids. The first level alarm includes a vibration in the spectacles while the second level alarm includes a pronounced warning from the speakers. They are also working upon monitoring brain waves to further improve the accuracy of their fatigue detection system.
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      Taking a cue from Global OEMs which have worked upon autonomous driving technology, the team has plans to introduce auto park function which will allow the car to park in a designated spot while taking directions from the mind of the driver remotely. This technology too is under preliminary development stage and it will be interesting to see the final result sometime in the future.
      Overall, the Renault Kwid Hybrid Electric is an impressive attempt at localized modifications, however it is still far away from being commercially viable. However, we are hopeful that in the coming years, similar entrepreneurs can possibly help to change the auto-landscape of the country. More

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      in Electric Cars

      Renault Kwid Electric makes India debut at 2020 Auto Expo

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      Renault Kwid Electric debuts as K-ZE. Renault Kwid based electric small car has made its debut at the Auto Expo 2020. Already launched in China, the new Renault Kwid electric hatchback is expected to be launched in India later this year. It has now been showcased at the 2020 Auto Expo to gauge customer interest. […] More