Centurion University of Vizianagaram launched e-autos and e-rickshaws, which are considered to be environment friendly and cost effective.
In association with Gramtarang Technologies, the university professors, technical staff and engineering students designed the electrical vehicles, which officially hit the market on Thursday.
Along with the Vice-Chancellor G.S.N. Raju, Centurion University Technology and Management vice-president D.N. Rao formally flagged off 10 e-auto and e-rickshaws on the college premises, on the outskirts of Vizianagaram.
Speaking to media, Mr. Rao said that the university was planning to manufacture around 1,000 electric vehicles in the financial year 2022-23 and improve business activity in a systematic way. “We have already signed Memorandum of Understanding with six automobile dealers. We are getting many inquiries and orders from different parts of the country, including West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana,” he said.
According to him, the university could get the authorisation from The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) as the e-vehicles were proved to be safe and could withstand hot environment in certain parts of the country.
ICAT’s authorisation facilitated the university to get permissions from Indian transport authorities. Each vehicle which can carry five persons at a time costs around ₹1.5 lakh. It can run up to 70 to 80 km without any interruption. Top speed of the vehicle is 25 km per hour.. It needs to be charged regularly and it is designed to run with solar power also.
Mr. Raju said the aim of the university was to involve students actively in manufacturing of e-vehicles. “Practical experience will help students to improve their technical skills. As the university is getting huge orders, we plan to establish more manufacturing units with state-of-the-art laboratories and other facilities,” he added.
University Registrar P.S.V. Ramana Rao and Deputy Registrar R.S. Varma were present.
