obama interested in REVA

Chetan Maini had reason to puff his chest out with pride on Saturday. His electric car, Reva, appeared to have driven into the hearts of Barack Obama and US entrepreneurs accompanying the US President . It is reported that Reva, which Maini sold to Mahindra in May this year, and its US-based partner Curtis generated considerable interest at a meeting that Obama had with business folk in Mumbai. A White House press release on Saturday said through their partnership, " Mahindra Reva and Curtis are advancing the commercialisation and adoption of clean vehicles in India and across the globe. The tiny wonder that made a debut on Bangalore roads is going places. It's playing in the big league that is the domain of large auto manuf acturers ." 

As governments across the world are pushing for stricter emission norms, Reva has been generating a lot of interest, especially in Europe. It has also launched the lithiumion battery powered Reva Lion that offers a range of 120km per charge and a maximum speed of 80km per hour. Reva has one of the largest fleets of electric cars, including the recently launched NXR and NXG that got a lot of attention at the Frankfurt Motor Show. 

NXG is expected to be available from the first quarter of 2011. NXR is a 2-door family car that comfortably seats four adults. With this model, Reva hopes to change its perception as a women's car or a 'second car for the family for short drives' . Maini studied mechanical engineering at theUniversity of Michigan, and was a member of the University's Solar Car Team that built and won the GM Sun Race in the US in 1990. It was then that Maini thought of building cost-effective electric vehicles.