Background Chetan had an interest in cars right from his childhood :- Developed radio-operated car at the age of 12. won a solar-powered car contest. After obtaining degrees from the University of Michigan and Stanford University, Chetan joined Amerigon, an American company As a program manager at Amerigon, Chetan was Involved with a variety of development projects in manufacturing of electric cars.

Reva: Driving Technology Adoption through Strategic Innovation1 With the commercial launch of the Reva in June 2001, fulfilled a seven-year old dream to bring an electric car to the Indian market. But by March 2002, it was clear that while the car was technologically sound, he still faced a number of challenges. In order to counter the challenge , capital investments to a minimum , product design and manufacturing strategy, by outsourcing wherever possible where some of the statergies implemented.

CONT…. Government had not come forth with subsidies as expected which prevents price effectively. Also has to face long-term challenge of maintaining the technological leadership of his company.

cont Indian cities with dense traffic, scarcity of parking space, pollution problems, and high fuel costs, Chetan believed that there could be a market for a small, environment-friendly. Chetan’s family runs the Maini group, that consists primarily of a precision component manufacturing. Maini Precision Products (MPP) exported components with a 2 micron tolerance to Bosch.

BUSINESS MODEL Assembly and outsourcing Tie ups Manufacturing strategy The investment cost reflect projected cost peak to volumes of 15000-16000 Efforts were made to redesign car All resulted in low project cost and an operating break-even Pay-back period of 3.5%

Raising finance was major hurdles Battery management AEVT system Other strategies Reva team made trade-off b\w cost and convenience Company gave free installation of charging infrastructure

BUSINESS PROSPECTS Niche marketing Designed in a modular form Upgrade with technologies change Marketing strategy The company hopes to be granted subsidies by the govt. Innovative ways to promote its sale Local exhibitions, events, journalists, major newspapers Car has been showcased and demonstrated at major technology companies

CAR FEATURES Energy efficiency Low operating cost Low maintenance cost, low centre of gravity Reasonable range Safety and reliability Easy to drive Non-polluting vehicle Price-249000 Small in size

Non-dentable body Voltage regulator Climate controlled seats as a substitute for AC Snorkel arrangement

FUTURE CHALLANGES RECC CHALLENGE lies in its ability:- TO OPTIMISE VEHICLE PERFORMANCE. TO PRODUCE SMALL VOLUMES VERY ECONOMICALLY. CORE ELECTRIC VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY IS NOW ESTABLISHED IN THE MARKET IS A GREAT CHALLANGE

RAMPING UP PRODUCTION RECC’s low investment makes the company dependent on external suppliers to increase volumes, So due to which bargaining power is more of suppliers. RECC had tried to overcome the disadvantage of its small volumes by intense interaction with suppliers so to build strong relationship. AND at the same time it is difficult to find small supplier in india who can maintain quality level and delivery commitment required.

. RECC stated making adequate capacity utilization if RECC could loose sale if it is not able to meet customers demand.

. 2. Change in Competitive landscape: Hyundai(santro) ,Maruti(alto), Tata(nano) 3. R&D and technology management: REVA see ahead for new & emerging technologies. They committed to spend 7% on R&D. As they are spending more on R&D they have to retain their qualified R&D manpower and keep them motivated.

. 4. Govt. policies & subsidies: As their vehicle is eco-friendly govt. is providing sales tax and road tax exemption. but for imports they are not getting exemption on excise duty or custom duty. 5. Large Automobile companies: As gaints like G.M ,FORD,TOYOTA &NISSAN all have electric vehicle development programme and if they saw substantial growth in this segment they can enter into market.