Chevrolet E-Spark Is The Electric Car For The Indian Car Buyer

Behold the Chevrolet E-Spark EV. The car, shown at the 2010 Delhi Auto Expo in India and based on the current Indian market Chevrolet Spark, is regarded as India’s first four-door electric vehicle.

Not many details are available at the moment, but the E-Spark will use the powertrain from the Reva NGX Concept, which is being developed thanks to a partnership between GM India and Reva with support of the Indian government.

Note that this here E-Spark is completely unrelated to the recently-announced Chevrolet Spark city car, since the E-Spark is basically an electrified version of the current Spark sold in India. The all-new Chevy Spark (that debuted as the Beat concept at the 2007 New York Auto Show) is available in India as the Chevy Beat.

We’re getting reports that the E-Spark will have both regular drive and boost models along with regenerative brakes (as any EV should). It may also be available with either lead acid or lithium-ion batteries, with production scheduled to start sometime this year.

While some may discount this car as boring and unattractive, that wouldn’t be telling the whole story. Today, the Indian car market prizes price over any and all features, bells, and whistles – looks included. So it’s quite remarkable that the E-Spark is rumored to cost only $2,000 more than its non-EV version. That said, if the E-Spark has plug-in capability and becomes a popular choice with Indian consumers, it may overload the country’s somewhat underdeveloped grid. And then there would be darkness.