Indian Roads might get a New Swift Hybrid

As the Indian market is drifting towards the electric and hybrid version of vehicles, A new scheme has been introduced by the Indian Government, called the Fame India Scheme. Fame stands for “Faster Adoption of Hybrid and Electric vehicles in India”. Reports suggest the proposed plan by the government being a part of the Electric Mobility Mission Plan, would offer incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles of up to INR 29,000 for two-wheelers and INR 1.38lakhs for cars.

 

During the proposal of the scheme, it has been quoted by a Government Official, to support this cause, brands like Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki would bring out such vehicles. Reports suggest one such machine could be the Maruti Swift Range Extender that was also presented at the event. Although it has been quoted by the Company that they would start the manufacturing only once they get clarity on the schemes and incentive plan. 

 

As per Mr. C V Raman, executive Director (Engineering), they need clarity and details on terms like the technology development fund, charging infrastructure and demand incentive. Coming on to the Swift Hybrid version called the Range Extender, was earlier being developed as a pilot project for the Indian Government. But after this proposal, the model might be produced and launched for the consumer market too. Powered by a 658cc, 3-cylinder petrol engine teamed with a permanent magnet synchronous motor, the vehicle is announced to produce an alluring 48.2Km/l of mileage. The car has an electric driving range of about 25.5 Kms. Despite being a smaller capacity engine, still manages for 73bhp.

The vehicle is divided in to 3 models - series hybrid, parallel hybrid and all-electric. In series hybrid model, the petrol powertrain acts as a generator to power the lithium-ion battery which then supports the electric motor. In this mode, the petrol engine indirectly helps generate electricity to power the electric motor. In parallel hybrid mode, both - the petrol engine and the electric motor - provide power to the wheels. The Swift Range Extender weighs 1,600 Kg, and takes 1.5 hours to completely charge the lithium-ion battery through a 200V socket.