Indian startup builds Renault Kwid hybrid that offers high fuel economy

Electric vehicles is going to be the future of mobility and many manufacturers have already started working on this space. In India, we have manufacturers like Mahindra, Tata, Hyundai and MG who have their presence in the EV space. Not just cars, we even have manufacturers who have offered electric buses, e-rickshaws and two wheelers. Many startup companies have also shown interest in this and one such company that has come up with a product was Hymotiv. we have featured them before on our website for their Renault Kwid hatchback that works on both electric and petrol engine. Here we have another video that shows how the whole system works.

Also read: Renault Kwid Neotech edition launched

The video has been uploaded by DIAL 101 on their Facebook page. The video starts by showing the car in action and then they talk about technical specifications of the car. The Kwid seen in the video is quite unique as it can run on both electric motor and petrol engine. The main benefit of this setup is that the user is not just dependent on the batteries range. If the batteries run out of charge, he or she can switch to petrol engine and drive away. 

The electric motor in this Kwid placed very uniquely. There are two motors and each motors is placed inside the rear wheel hub. Which makes it a rear wheel drive car when using the electric motor. They have been testing this vehicle extensively for quite some time and say that the battery pack is water resistant.

As this vehicle uses both petrol and electric motors, the Renault Kwid return a maximum economy of 48 kmpl. The On the inside, the centre console has been slightly modified to accommodate a meter that shows amount of juice left in the batteries. The power switch for the batteries is placed on the dash and a simple rotary drive knob on the dash helps the car move forward and in reverse.

When this switch is turned off, the car can be used like a regular car. This idea has actually a brainchild of bunch of recently passed out engineering students in Kerala. They had also worked on a Maruti 800 during the time of their course where it was converted to an electric vehicle. They had also tried to develop a system for a driverless car in the same Maruti 800. Several tests are still being conducted on the Kwid electric and once they are all conducted they will think about the production part.

Also read: This is the sportiest Maruti 800 you will ever see (Video)

The electric vehicle start-up space is getting quite exciting in India. We already have a start up called Ather Energy producing futuristic electric scooters called the Ather S340 and S450. Another Bangalore-based start up called Pravaig Energy plans to be India’s Tesla, and is all set to unveil its first electric sportscar: the Pravaig Extinction Mk1.