Electric vehicles are gaining popularity in the market and several manufacturers have started concentrating more on EVs. Tata Nexon which was launched in the market last year is currently the best selling electric SUV in the country. It is currently the most affordable electric SUV one can buy in the country. It competes with other electric SUVs like MG ZS EV and Hyundai Kona EV in the segment. If this trend continues, manufacturers will come up with electric vehicles for commercial segment as well. Here we have a video where a normal Tata Ace pickup truck has been neatly converted into an all-electric version.
The video has been uploaded by PlugInIndia Electric Vehicles on their YouTube channel. The channel actually interviews Hemank Dabhade, whom we have featured on our website in the past. He is the man who built an electric version of Chevrolet Beat and is also working on electric version of Maruti Dzire. One of the recent project that Northway Motorsport is currently working on is the fully electric commercial pick-ups.
Northway Motorsports has put a lot of effort into this conversion. Starting with the changes, the engine and all the other components related to it were removed from the Tata Ace Gold. The electric motor, convertors and many other components installed in the electric version of Tata Ace Gold has all been developed inhouse by Northway Motorsport. They wiring and all the other components comply with government regulations and the test unit shown in the video is actually road legal.
One of the common issue with the ICE version of Ace was that, the front was quite heavy. This is not a problem when it is loaded but, when there is no weight at the rear, the handling part is quite difficult. In order to resolve that issue, Northway Motorsports placed the batteries under the carrier of the Ace. This way, they could place batteries without making any modification to the basic structure and also balance the weight.
The Tata Ace Gold seen in the video was actually loaded at the rear. They had loaded almost 850 kilograms and can even take up to a ton. Even with so much weight, Tata Ace was able to perform pretty well. Even better than the petrol, diesel or CNG counterparts. In comparison the ICE version, the electric version generates more torque which is very much needed when you are carrying so much weight. The video then shows how exactly the electric version of the pickup works.
The main difference from the ICE version is that, they have completely removed the clutch. The gear lever is still functional and the driver can shift between gears depending upon the amount of power the vehicle needs. The pickup has enough torque that it can easily move even on third gear. Even with a load that weighs around 850 kilos, the electric version of Tata Ace Gold was able to achieve over 80 kmph on the speedometer. Northway Motorsports does not convert vehicles on individual basis. They are currently looking for a partner with whom they can commercially launch these products. The approximate cost of conversion is going to be somewhere around Rs 4 lakh to Rs 6 lakh.
Source: cartoq.com
