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Case Studies and Management Resources
Asia's Most Popular Collection of Management Case Studies |
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Reva Electric Car Company (RECC) was established in 1994 through a joint venture between the Maini Group and Amerigon. Amerigon had a 32% stake in RECC's Rs 58 million equity and Maini Precision Products and Maini Materials Movement held the remaining 68%. Amerigon helped RECC in building the chassis of Reva. The car was manufactured at RECC's plants at Bommasandra in Bangalore. The car's key technologies included its steel frame, the energy management system and a motor controller. The motor controller was developed through a technical collaboration with Curtis, one of the world's leading manufacturers of motor controller for electric vehicles. In 1996, RECC built the first prototype for Reva and received the mandatory certification.
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The prototype was also put through the 250,000 km 'shaker test'7 at the Automobile Research Association of India (ARAI), Pune. It was also tested at ARAI for homologation8 and was certified for road-worthiness. The prototypes were also tested in the US. They were also tested on the Indian roads in conditions of heat, humidity, and monsoons. However, Reva was not launched immediately. Chetan explained, "We had no definite plans to launch then. It's just that we've been making absolutely sure that when the product is in the market, it doesn't have any problems." In addition, RECC wanted to ensure that at least 75% of the car's components were available in India. The car had 1,100 components out of which 99% were manufactured in India. In terms of value, the components manufactured in India accounted for about 75%. |
The company aimed to achieve an indigenisation of 100% by the end of 2002. Further research was done to make the car more comfortable and efficient. AT Kearney Consultants9 had conducted a market survey, based on which it recommended some changes to the car.
7] During the shaker test, a car is mounted on four posts. Each of the posts is independently moved to simulate various
road conditions over a cycle of 4,00,000 km.
8] Homologation is the certification of a product or specification to indicate that it meets regulatory standards.
9] A US-based consultancy offering services in the areas of operations, manufacturing and strategy.
Case Code : BSTR030
Themes: Mergers Acquisition and Takeovers
Case Length : 9 Pages
Period : 2001
Organization : Reva Electric Car Company
Pub Date : 2002
Teaching Note : Available
Countries : India
Industry : Automobile & Automotive
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