Breaking barriers for a greener tomorrow

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A TIMES AUTO INITIATIVE

Sustainability is a journey that we all need to embark on, now. Zero emission mobility is seen as one of the front runners towards a greener planet. And rightly so, as we found out from our record-breaking, cross-country drive in a BYD all-new e6

By Girish Karkera

Last year electric transportation major Warren Buffet-backed BYD started a new chapter in its over a decade-long story in India. After successfully leading the way for zero-emission electric public carriers, BYD launched its globally-validated premium electric MPV, all-new e6 in India. Equipped with its patented and state-of-the-art Blade battery technology – the only one to safely pass the nail penetration test – this vehicle is its first offering for Indian automotive customers looking for an ultra-safe, a reliable, long-range, zero emission car that doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket.

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The BYD all-new e6 clocked a daily average of over 440km on this trip with the AC on, 3 passengers and a full load of luggage

The all-new e6 is now in its second-generation. While at first

the silhouette reminds you of a traditional kind of MPV, it breaks the norm by offering a more than generously spacious, two-row of seats and a massive 580-litre boot. The car is nearly 4.7m long with a healthy 2.8m wheelbase. The numbers are a clear indication of the amount of room inside for all five passengers and their luggage. Not surprisingly, that is the core purpose of the car – carry passengers in comfort. More importantly, with a long-lasting battery it is able to address an issue most current electric car owners dread – range anxiety.

But can an electric car go beyond just transportation? Climate change seems here to stay, and the human world has actually begun to change in response to this great upheaval that has beset our planet. While new technologies to make automobiles more sustainable are being invented as you read this, on this World Environment Day, BYD together with its charging partner ChargeZone and Times Auto, wanted to show how a zero-emission car – seen by many as the frontrunner in creating a greener planet – fits into our current environment, in India.

The plan was to drive from India’s commercial capital Mumbai to national capital Delhi in a BYD all-new e6 premium MPV in one single shot. Also, we wanted to show first-hand, stories of sustainability that so far you may have just heard of. This required us to get off the beaten track (read, the highways), which also meant taking on the challenge of finding charging stations that could keep us going and on schedule. And through this journey of over 2000 kilometers, we were also going to check, how practical the electric car experience was given the existing infrastructure.

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Sanjay Gopalakrishnan (BYD India), Sanit Patel (ChargeZone) flagging off the drive from Landmark BYD, Mumbai

The drive was flagged off from Landmark BYD in Andheri (W), Mumbai and doing the honours was Sanjay Gopalakrishnan, Senior Vice-President, Electric Passenger Vehicle Business, BYD India, Shivani Chaudhary, Head PR & Marketing alongside Sanit Patel, Board Observer & Advisor for Marketing and Strategic Growth, Charge Zone (BYD India’s charging partner) and Neerav Shah, CEO of Landmark BYD, Mumbai.

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Driving a BYD all-new e6 into the record books Girish Karkera (left) and Aashish Bhardwaj

After an early-morning flag-off from busy Mumbai, our drive first took us across the Gujarat border towards Vansda National Park in South Gujarat. Vansda is a relatively modern National Park having been handed over to the Indian government by a royal family in 1979. Spread over 24 square kilometers next to Ambika River, this protected area despite being small compared to more famous parks of India, plays a substantially big part in maintaining the ecological balance in this part of the Sahyadhri range. A drive on the jungle trails looked tough but the 180Nm of torque from standstill made crawling easy and controlled. BYD engineers have managed to fit the massive 71.7kWh battery cleverly too, so that the car doesn’t bottom out easily – something only a few electric cars are known to do.

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A naturally sustainable, hence long-living Baobab tree near Vadodara. This particular one is said to be over 950 years old

With a night halt at Surat and an overnight charge, next day we headed out to one of the oldest living things in India – a 950-year-old Baobab tree in Ganpatpura on the outskirts of Vadodara. While its branches may not look lush, the trunk is wide and bulky, holding enough moisture for it to survive longer and nourish itself. A smaller foliage means it consumes less to survive – a lesson on sustainability then. Although we briefly lost our way in the maze of some village roads finding this place, the long range at our disposal meant we weren’t too worried about being stranded. We still had enough juice, despite the mid-40s temperature to reach our night stop – Mehsana.

Interestingly, though Mehsana isn’t a busy thoroughfare, we found two quick chargers – a testament of the fast-growing electric charging network.

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Facilities such as the Gujarat Solar Park in Charanka play a crucial role in creating a zero-emission mobility ecosystem

While the Baobab tree was an example of natural sustainability, from Mehsana we got a chance to visit Gujarat’s largest and one of India’s first solar power plant at Charanka. Spread over 5400 acres, the plant generates more than 730mw of solar power which is pumped back into the grid. Locals hail this facility as it utilised what was otherwise arid and barren land to not only generate electricity from a renewable resource but also created employment around the area – be it something as high-tech as building these solar panels or something as basic as cleaning them. Importantly, and coincidentally, these places show how both nature and human endeavour can create a ‘Technology Green Future’, which is also BYD’s core brand proposition.

While fast chargers are yet to spring up in this area (plans are afoot), the e6 was able to back track nearly 150km back to Mehsana where we topped it again and headed onward to Udaipur. Night driving on the super-smooth Mehsana-Udaipur stretch was a surreal experience. The all-new e6’s comfort and ease of drivability was helpful in keeping fatigue in check. On this day, we also clocked the longest daily running of 700+km.

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ChargeZone’s network along the highway was a big help in quick charging the car

From Udaipur to Jaipur and onward to Delhi, the drive was mostly restricted to the highway. ChargeZone, a Vadodara-based company, has created a network of 650+ EV charging stations (and counting) across India. It is on a mission to create a million charging points for EVs by 2030. On this trip too, its network was available on hand to ensure we don’t waste time or take too many detours. While on the road, we could sense the people’s interest in EVs as they seemed especially amazed to witness the range that this Blade battery set-up gave BYD e6. We finally reached BYD’s upcoming showroom in Okhla, New Delhi where company officials flagged the car in after five days and 2203.6km on the trip meter. While the drive was to talk about sustainability, the distance covered in this single journey meant it was a new India Book record.

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The A team (L to R): ChargeZone’s Neeraj Gupta, Shivani Chaudhary (BYD India), Dr Samir Das (India Book of Records), Sanjay Gopalkrishnan (BYD India), Girish Karkera and Aashish Bhardwaj (Times Auto)

“We envisaged the electric drive with a motive of creating awareness on sustainability and EV adoption under the theme ‘A Sustainable Drive for a Sustainable India.’ We are proud to highlight that our premium eMPV has saved over 400kg of carbon emissions on this trip alone,” said Sanjay Gopalkrishnan after accepting the certificate from India Book of Records adjudicator Dr Samir Das. With ChargeZone as our electric charging partner, the drive covered over 2200km of seamless travel with necessary electric touchpoints across our National Highways. This drive has proven that BYD India’s all-new e6 with Blade battery is the only trusted vehicle in safety, comfort, driveability and long-range drives in the segment.”

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This trip meter reading gave the participants an entry into the India Book of Records

ODO-reading

‘Sustainable drive for a sustainable India’ was done by BYD India Pvt. Ltd. in association with ChargeZone and Times Auto. This BYD e6 was driven by Girish Karkera, Editor – Times Auto along with auto enthusiast and traveler Aashish Bhardwaj for over 2200km for a new entry in the India Book of Records.

Disclaimer: Content Produced by BYD

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