Revealed: Mahindra Reva’s ‘islands in the sun’ gameplan

A few years from now, you may see Mahindra Reva’s electric vehicles on roads in small island geographies rather than the mainland. That’s because the company sees small land masses as strong potential markets. Bermuda is one example where the company has shipped some cars.

What has influenced this fledgling strategy is the fact that most islands enjoy sunny climes, are frequented by tourists and above all, have smaller driving distances. “It’s going to be cheaper (to run EVs) because anyway islands import energy and cleanliness will be easier to maintain. Tourism will benefit as islands will be quieter, cleaner and pristine. Maybe that will, over time, have a lot of people thinking about electric cars on a vacation and then maybe buying them later,” says Chetan Maini, CEO, Mahindra Reva.  

Given the shorter driving distances, the e2o’s 100km driving range could be more than enough for islands users, whereas the same driving range could make users in the mainland anxious. According to Maini, the 150-200 bay islands across the world provide Mahindra Reva a large market for its electric vehicles. Having a presence in these islands may help EVs like the e2o get exposure to people, perhaps from various prospective markets, providing the carmaker a good opportunity to market or maybe even gauge a product’s acceptance level.

“We do see this year as an extension into different things,” says Maini. Could there be another unconventional strategy in the making? Watch this space.