As a part of the ‘Green Mumbai Drive-2021’ initiative, Autocar India and Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd. (AEML) recently organized an all-electric car rally
Rising pollution is a serious concern and since conventional vehicles are one of the biggest contributors, all efforts are being made by automobile manufacturers and governments to change India into an electric vehicles’ country as soon as possible. In July, the government of Maharashtra passed new electric vehicles’ policy. To support their new move and to celebrate the ‘Green Mumbai Drive-2021’, Autocar India and Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd. (AEML) organized India’s first-ever electric car rally in the commercial capital of Mumbai.
A first of its kind, the electric rally was flagged off by AadityaThakeray, who is the State Minister for Tourism, Environment, and Protocol. The rally was flagged off from the Mahalaxmi Race Course. Not to forget, Jeet Adani of the Adani Group was at the event as a fellow chief guest.
At the event, AadityaThakeray said, “It is a great beginning to bring EVs into the limelight. Events such as these can clear doubts in the minds of people regarding electric vehicles. I look forward to more such events being organised between Mumbai and Pune, or Mumbai and Kolhapur to bust myths regarding EVs and encourage people to drive electric cars,” as quoted by Autocar India.
The event had 30 electric cars and the entire convoy of the cars left from Mahalaxmi Race Course and passed through several places, such as Kanheri Caves, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Vikhroli mangroves and more. Some notable cars present among the 30 were Tesla Model X, Audi e-tron, Volvo XC40 Recharge, Jaguar I-Pace and Mercedes-Benz EQC. The distance covered by the 30 electric cars was around 110 kilometres, which showed that electric cars are suitable for long drives inside the city premises.
Speaking about the present pollution problem and how electric vehicles can change the future, Kandarp Patel, the MD and CEO of Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd said to Autocar India, “Close to 30 per cent of our carbon footprint comes from transportation, and as Mumbai’s largest electric utility, Adani Electricity aims to lead the way in powering Mumbai’s transition to electric mobility with a goal to drastically reduce carbon emissions.”
Last but not least, Autocar India’s editor Hormazd Sorabjee who was also present at the event said, “The goal of Green Mumbai Drive 2021 is to raise awareness about the role EVs can play in reducing CO2 emissions and combating climate change,” as quoted by The Economic Times.
