Registration Expiring on Your Old Car? Time to Convert to Electric

Got an old petrol or diesel engine car? Have it converted to an electric in less than half the price of a new car.

Buy an electric car or just convert the old one. 

(Photo: iStock)

By now you know that all diesel and petrol engine cars in Delhi/NCR have an expiration date. If you’re driving one which is older than 10 years for diesel or 15 for petrol, there is a chance you’ll be pulled over by the cops. The ban on diesel cars 10-years or older and petrol cars 15-years or older has forced many car owners to either sell the car beyond state borders or just scrap it.

What if I told you there was a third way out of this mess. A legal way at that!

Just convert your old diesel car to an electric one. It’s way cheaper than buying a new car.

The electric vehicle expo 2018 in Delhi showcased some innovative future ready technologies which are about the hit the Indian automotive sector. One such tech that caught my eye was the electric motor on offer by Altis Technologies.

This is an electric motor Altis Technologies has made for a bus.(Photo: The Quint)

The company is offering to retrofit your old car with an electric motor that will convert your four wheeler into a battery powered machine. That means removing the old engine and then fitting an electric motor into the chassis.

The same motor could be made in a smaller version for cars and two-wheelers.(Photo: The Quint)

Just last year, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, allowed retro-fitment of a hybrid or an electric system on an existing vehicle. Companies like Altis heard this and are ready to offer this as an option to customers by next year. Just FYI, there are many other brands like Bosch and KPIT Cummins which offer similar technology.

This is the controller unit for the electric motor.(Photo: The Quint)

Speaking to the managing director of Altis Technologies, Mr Rajiv Arora, he said, “the cost of retrofitting your car with an electric motor will cost just 15-20 percent of the value of a brand new Vehicle”.

The only thing you need to make sure is that the gross weight of the vehicle should not exceed 3,500 kilograms which is within the norms.

A car that runs on similar technology is the upcoming Wagon R electric which in all probability will be launched in 2020.

The new Wagon R Electric (Photo: YouTube)

There are primarily 3 components essential to make this conversion possible. You need an electric motor, a controller unit to monitor the motor and an ECU (electronic control unit) to run other electrical components like headlamps, indicators, etc.

The company provides customers with the retrofitting and assembly or you can get the same done from your authorised dealers.

The electric motor can range from 1 to 250 kilowatt depending on size of vehicle.(Photo: The Quint)

For cars you need mostly a 10-15Kw (kilowatt) motor depending on the size and weight. You can have this assembly fitted in your old car at roughly Rs 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh again depending on the size, the mileage you want at each charge and also the type of battery you want. Assembly for big vehicles like a bus can take up to a month while small vehicles will take up to 2 days.

The company is also ready to provide a warranty of around 3-4 lakh kilometres on the motor. Me Arora also added, “as there aren’t many moving parts involved, the risk of damage is lesser”.

On acccount of after sale service, Altis is looking to collaborate with multiple dealers across India to help with customer grievances. Initially the company will focus on cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore.

So, if the outer shell of your car has more life in it and you feel it has more to offer besides the engine, do not scrap it and consider the option of going electric instead of spend a considerable amount of a car that has a shelf life of just 10-12 years.