Self-drive a Mahindra e20 for just Rs. 100 anytime you want

Mahindra Reva and CarzonRent have come up with a unique tie-up, which should hopefully help make commuting far easier, greener and cleaner. You can now self-drive a fully charged Mahindra e20 at Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore to go about town at just Rs. 100 an hour.

This makes last mile connectivity pretty easy for those who need to go around town for a few errands. Starting initially with a batch of 15 Mahindra e20s, CarzonRent will slowly increase its fleet size as demand rises. To book a self-drive Mahindra e20 for the day, you can log on to the CarzonRent website after October 1, 2013 to avail this facility. Also see: Mahindra e20 full video review

How to rent a self-drive car

Here’s what you will be charged for self-driving a Mahindra e20, which makes it one of the most economical and convenient means of transport around. Here’s how to go about making a booking step-by-step:

• Log on the website and select the time and place you need the car
• You need to enter your credit card details
• A refundable security amount of Rs. 5,000 is blocked on your card
• You can then pick up the e20 for a minimum billing of 2 hours (Rs. 225)
• Charges that apply are:
  –  Rs. 200 for 2 hours
  –  Rs. 300 for 4 hours
  –  Rs. 400 for 6 hours
  –  Rs. 500 for 12 hours
  –  Rs. 800 for 24 hours
• You get t0 keep and drive the Mahindra e20 at your convenience. You’ll need to plug it in for a recharge as and when required.

Mahindra Reva and CarzonRent claim that over 100 recharge points are being set up around the three cities – Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. With the Mahindra e20’s incredibly low running costs, this works out to be one of the cheapest modes of transport. A full charge will cost you about Rs. 50 depending on your electricity unit rate. It takes about 8 units of electricity for a full charge, which can be achieved in about 5 hours on a fully depleted battery or about 3 hours when you have 30% charge remaining. It can also recharge up to 80% capacity in 1 hour.

Comfortable, inexpensive and clean

Consider the economics of this deal and it really looks lucrative. You don’t have to own the car. You get to drive when you want and you travel at the cheapest possible running cost. In reality you can go over 85 km with AC on a full charge, although claimed capacity is 100 km per charge. That works out to less than 60 paise per km. Consider even a fuel efficient diesel or CNG car and you’ll end up spending at least 5 times that amount per km, added to the self-drive rental costs, which are anyway higher. CarzonRent charges Rs. 1200 per day for a self-drive Maruti Swift (not billed on an hourly basis like the e20).

CarToq got to experience this initiative, when Mahindra Reva and CarzonRent dropped off an e20 for us to use the whole day. This kind of deal makes a lot of sense for business travellers flying into a city for a couple of meetings or housewives who need a car to go about town for a just a few hours or even college students headed out for a drive around town. All the cars have in-built GPS navigation and are air-conditioned with enough space for four adults. We think there should be more such initiatives to really make the green revolution kick in, and we need more electric cars from other carmakers too.

Living with a Mahindra e20 – 3 day report:

Living with a Mahindra e20: Day-1 report, full of little surprises 

Living with a Mahindra e20, Day-2 report, Anxious Moments 

Living with a Mahindra e20, Day-3 report, The Urban Runabout