Retrofitted e-autos likely to be rolled out from January next year
The Hindu
Less investment and low operational expense among advantages
The skyrocketing price of fuel, including of CNG that crossed ₹70 this month, has led to autorickshaw operators banking hopes on staying afloat by retrofitting electric kits in conventional autorickshaws.
“Each new e-auto that comes with fixed battery is priced up to ₹3.30 lakh, while the retrofitting process is estimated to cost approximately half as much. Such substantial lowering of investment in an extremely price-conscious segment like autorickshaws, looks feasible and is the need of the hour. Especially so, since auto drivers were amongst the worst hit by the pandemic-induced fall in demand for public transport,” said Binu Varghese, secretary, Autorickshaw Drivers Union (AITUC), who was among the office-bearers from Kerala who visited manufacturing units of different e-auto firms and did test drives.