India’s First Solar Electric Car Lined Up For Launch At Bharat Mobility Expo 2025

As the date for the upcoming Bharat Mobility Expo nears, we get to see news about participating brands and possible launches. One interesting debut expected, is that of the production-spec Vayve EVA solar car. The Pune-based startup showcased the prototype at last year’s Auto Expo. The series production spec is known to be out this year.

EVA: India’s First Solar Electric Car

Yes, this is a solar-powered electric car! More than that, it is a quirky micro-car designed specifically for cities and tight traffic conditions. It is in fact, a three-wheeler, getting two at the front and one at the rear. Targeted at users who are on the lookout for a tiny, narrow two-seater (that arguably looks like someone made a car out of a motorcycle) that can turn quickly and in very limited space, can zip through traffic and facilitate easy commute to the owner, Vayve EVA gets a very interesting design.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the above description reminds you of the MG Comet. We have had the REVA i and Bajaj Qute in the past, but it is the Comet that found real sales success with the ‘micro commuter’ formula. With its tiny proportions and feature-packed cabin, the Comet has managed to gather good retails. In a way, it spearheaded the mass market narrow body car segment in India.

Vayve seems to be eyeing for a share of the same pie with the EVA. Unlike the Comet, it is a 3-seater and gets a single seat at the front and a two-seater flat bench at the rear. The absence of a second front seat has facilitated easier ingress and egress to the rear bench.

Let’s talk in detail about the EVA prototype that was showcased previously. It gets a rather small liquid-cooled 14 kWh battery pack that supports DC fast charging and rejuicing via wall sockets. AC charging at home would take four hours to complete while DC fast charging could get it to 80% SoC in just 45 minutes. The battery pack had a claimed range of 250 km per charge and the electric motor a peak power of 6kW.

The most important highlight, however, is the solar charging option. The sunroof on the car has integrated 150W solar panels that can charge the battery to give an additional 10-12 km in range every day. This makes it 3000 free miles a year, in addition to the battery’s normal range. Needless to say, the vehicle is targeted at the average Indian buyer whose daily travel is around 30 km.

Much like the Comet, the EVA gets a cool-looking, feature-rich cabin. Expect the likes of a reversing camera, a touchscreen infotainment system, a digital instrument cluster, two-spoke steering, airbags, and automatic emergency braking. The vehicle would come with a monocoque chassis and an IP 68-rated powertrain.

Vayve EVA: Talking Business

Though the EV scene has been booming in India, it has been dominated by deep-pocket brands like Tata Motors and Mahindra. Vayve is realistically trying to grab a share from the 10% of India’s net EV population. The official launch is expected on January 17, 2025.

Their strength here are the solar charging tech ( photovoltaics) and microscopic body size that can be a blessing in tight city traffic. Driving it could be highly convenient in the horrible traffic conditions of cities like Pune. The hack here is to pitch to the right set of buyers and make conversions and in the long run, money. Pricing would be critical in this. We’d have to wait to see if Vayve pulls this off well…