Electric Car Reva

BACKGROUND NOTE

The Maini Group (Refer Table V) was established in 1973 in Bangalore (Karnataka) by Sudarshan. K. Maini (Sudarshan)⁴ , who aimed to blend western technology with Indian craftsmanship. The group followed the ‘single zero principle⁵'and its philosophy was ‘Karma Parma Dharma'(Work is Worship). The group's products ranged from precision components to in-plant material handling equipment and, from granites to abrasives. The group was also involved in international trading and offered ERP solutions.

Maini Group had technological agreements with Abressa (Spain), Clark-Blue Giant (US), Hensel (Germany), HIAB (Sweden) and STILL (UK). Some of the major clients of the group included General Motors, Bosch, BT, MIC, OMR and other Indian companies in the automobiles, consumer goods, engineering, and food processing and pharmaceuticals industries.

The group was known for its quality standards and its plants had ISO 9001 and QS 9000 certification. Chetan Maini (Chetan), son of Sudarshan, the chairman of the Maini Group, was always fascinated with cars and designed his first car during his school days. He made a remote-controlled, battery-operated toy and bagged the first prize at the school's science exhibition. He graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a specialization in solar-powered vehicles.

After graduating, he worked at General Motors'EV factory as an intern for six months. Chetan then joined the US-based Amerigon Electric Vehicle Technologies Inc. (Amerigon)⁶ , which was involved in building EVs. At Amerigon, he built about six types of Solar and HEVs.

He was also the leader of the team that won the ‘GM Sun Race of Solar Vehicles'in 1990 and the team also bagged the 3rd position in the World Solar Challenges in Australia. In the early 1990s, Chetan planned to build his own EV and established RECC with the help of Sudarshan. Chetan said, “Cars are my passion, and the Reva is my dream that will soon become a reality.”

Sudarshan had dreamt of launching a small car in Bangalore and making the city pollution free. However, he planned to build an electric car after his son Chetan, joined Amerigon as a project manager for an EV project. Explaining the primary objective of RECC, he said, “It is the passion for the environment and turning Bangalore into a pollution free city.”

Further, the Maini Group manufactured electrically operated material handling equipment. Sudarshan explained, “...the group's material movements division, which manufactured electrically-operated material handling equipment, offered us the obvious choice to venture into the electric car industry rather than the conventional car market. It is a car that is made for India to suit Indian conditions using material available in India.”

TABLE V
THE MAINI GROUP COMPANIES

Company	Year of Establishment	Operations
Maini Precision Products	1973	Manufactured and supplied of more than 500 types of machined components to the OEMs like Bosch and General Motors.
Karnataka Electronics	1976	Produced fuel filters, filter inserts, hand primers, roller tappet pins and diaphragms.
Bangalore Commercial Corporation	1980	The trading arm of the Maini group
Maini Materials Movement	1986	Offered total in-plant material handling solutions to a wide range of industries.
Maini Granites Limited	1992	A 100% Export Oriented Unit. Produced high precision, high quality granite tiles.
Maini Abrasives	1992	A joint venture between the Maini Group and Abressa (Spain), the company produced a wide range of abrasives for grinding or polishing of marble, granite, ceramics, terrazzo and artificial stones.
Maini Info Solutions	1999	Offered a range of business solutions in information technology, including integration of packed applications for product development and process management.

Source: www.mainigroup.com

ON THE ROAD TO REALITY

THE FUTURE OF REVA

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

[4] Sudarshan K Maini was a technocrat at Motor Industries Company (MICO), the Indian subsidiary of Bosch and the German-based engineering giant.

[5] Meaning zero defects, zero delay, zero excuses and zero compromises.

[6] Amerigon was a subsidiary of Amerigon Inc., a provider of aerospace technology to the automobile industry. Amerigon was known for its successful commercialization of its technologies. It concentrated on developing advanced components for the automobile industry. The company had researched and invested substantially in electric vehicle technology and aimed at commercializing it throughout the world.