India's Largest Automobile Exhibition, Delhi Auto Expo, is a biennial event that takes place once every two years. The 15th Edition of this biennial event was held this year from February 7 - February 15 at the India Expo Mart, Greater Noida. The Auto Expo is a perfect platform for the OEMs to showcase an array of products ranging from crazy concepts to production models. At the 2020 Auto Expo, we witnessed the global portfolio of a lot of new upcoming manufacturers and also saw innumerable electric vehicles. One such EV that got everybody's attention is the Mahindra Atom Electric that is neither a car nor an auto-rickshaw. In this article, we tell you the Top 5 things you need to know about the 2021 Mahindra Atom EV.
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What is Atom EV?
The Atom EV looks cute and has very compact dimensions. So, the first question which arises in everybody's mind is that what is it if it is neither a car nor an auto-rickshaw? The answer is it is a Quadricycle. A Quadricycle is a new vehicle category that sits between a three-wheeler and a four-wheeler. This category has been recently introduced in the Indian market and once launched, it will be the first electric quadricycle in the country.
Looks
Mahindra Atom EV is a super-compact interesting-looking vehicle and it does look good. It is a two-door three-seater electric vehicle mainly targeted as an alternate option to traditional auto-rickshaws. It is a clean & green vehicle for urban shared mobility solutions. The Atom EV gets basic headlights, taillights, a single wiper and it rides on low rolling resistance Eco-drive 12-inch tyres measuring 135/70 R12, which looks small but will be very effective as it is a low-speed running EV.
Interiors and Features
Hop on to its interior and one can see that it gives you a rich cabin experience when compared to an auto-rickshaw. At the front, it gets a driver seat and some space storage space to keep the luggage. Our Editor got to experience a small ride in it and judge its practicality and he was quite impressed by it. It can seat three people inside the cabin including the driver and a tall person of around 6-feet can also sit comfortably on the rear passenger seat.
The Atom EV also gets large windows so that the passengers don't feel claustrophobic at all. Talking about features, it gets a mobile phone holder for the driver, air-con vents, a flat-bottom steering wheel, three 12V charging sockets along with a magazine holder. It also gets a rear-seat entertainment package so that passengers don't feel bored while on the go.
Powertrain Options
Mahindra Atom EV is a low-speed electric quadricycle. The exact specifications of its powertrain haven't been revealed but it is expected to get a Lithium-ion battery pack with an electric motor. The motor is expected to churn out around 15kW which translates to around 20 PS of power and being an EV, it will deliver an insane amount of torque right from the word go. The EV will have an electronically-limited top speed of around 70 kmph. It is claimed to deliver a real-world range of around 90 kilometres on a single charge and once the battery is drained, it can be juiced up in around 4 hours via a regular charger.
Launch Timeline and Price
Mahindra Atom EV was showcased at the 2020 Auto Expo and was expected to go on sale by the third quarter of this year. However, as per the latest reports, the launch of the Atom EV has now been postponed owing to the coronavirus pandemic and it will now go on sale in 2021. The production-spec Mahindra Atom will be assembled at the company's Bengaluru plant. Lastly, talking about its price, it is expected to be priced around Rs. 3 lakhs mark and initially, it will be available only for the commercial segment to rival the Bajaj Qute.
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So, this was all about the 2021 Mahindra Atom EV. What are your thoughts on this electric quadricycle? Do share with us in the comments below.
