Converting to Hybrid Cars in Delhi (40% Reduction in Operating Costs)

@ Indian Express - Delhi will need radical measures to tackle its air pollution problem and the Delhi government’s odd-even initiative is a just one of the many things that can be done. IP university graduate Nikhil Khurana seems to think he has a better alternative — get more cars to go hybrid.

Hybrid cars run on more than one energy source, for instance petrol plus electricity, and also fall under the exempted categories in Delhi’s odd-even scheme. In India, the options available in the market under clean/alternative fuel category are rather few and some of these vehicles are priced beyond the reach of a regular customer. However, 23-year-old Khurana has developed a ‘Hybrid car conversion kit’ which can convert a normal car into a hybrid for around Rs 1 lakh. “This is our published patent technology and apart from providing a clean or alternative fuel technology, the hybrid kit also increases the mileage of a car by 40 per cent and reduces its running cost by 30 per cent,” says Khurana.

After the hybrid car conversion kit designed by Folks Motor — a company set-up by Khurana with his friends — is installed, the vehicle can be easily run on either fuel or power modes. “Currently we are offering fuel plus electric kits as the government regulation doesn’t allow us to use this technology with CNG,” he says. “Once the car is running, the batteries get charged automatically and can be used to drive the vehicle at a maximum speed of 60 km/hour.” So, if a car runs around 10 km on fuel then it can run for 4 km on the batteries improving the total mileage by 40 per cent,” he adds. The battery charges to its maximum limit if the car runs for 70-75 km and gives extra mileage of 30-35 km.

Check out the inforgraphic on Emissions Analysis for Odd/Even Days in Delhi