Tata Technologies revealed its latest concept, the eMO EV, while participating in the Michellin Challenge Design as part of the Motor show being held at Detroit. A team of 300 plus engineers from various Tata Technologies‘ centers in UK, Germany, Detroit and Pune have been involved in the designing and engineering of this Electric Mobility concept.
The architecture of the eMO lays stress on the perfect sized transportation in urban localities, which is achieved by minimizing the exterior footprint while maximizing its interior space giving the car capacity of accommodating four elders. Based on research data secured from urban and city usage, the eMO has been provided with the flexibility of articulated rear seats that can make the car double up as a personal carrier of cargo, without having the necessity of incorporating the added cost and mass of dedicated boot spaces.
The concept car, which comes in a front wheel drive, has been provided with liquid cooled twin motors along with an 18.4kW high density/energy air-cooled battery. Once fully charged, the car is capable of covering a distance of 161km achieving a 105kmph peak speed. Other features that have been provided include nine units of airbags, fully steel made safety cage, a touchscreen interface on the dashboard, and easily accessible rear emergency doors along with front doors that are forward opening.
As far as mechanical aspects of the car goes, it has been provided with independent McPherson struts at the front whereas its rear suspension has been provided with semi-trailing links having separately mounted springs and shock absorbers. It gets disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the rear, which is further reinforced with ABS and EBD. The electrically powered steering has been provided with rack-and-pinion feature.
As per reports, the car has been provided with greater aerodynamic surfaces as well as shorter vehicles compared to vehicles that are powered by internal combustion. For further reduction of carbon, the vehicle has not made use of the traditional methods of painting for coloring its body panels but has opted for using recycled materials.
Though it is estimated that the concept car is going to be priced around the $20,000 mark, the car maker does not have plans of mass producing this eMO concept. Global COO and President of Tata Technologies, Warren Harris has said that the concept has been developed strictly for engineering study without thinking of any particular automaker. However, if auto making companies express interest to explore the potential that the eMO offers, they are definitely going to be obliged.
As per Harris, this eMO project highlights the maturity levels of automotive engineering from India.
President of the Vehicle Programs and Development Group of Tata Technologies, Kevin Fisher has thrown light on how this eMO program got initiated. He said that during the middle of 2010, with the anticipated launching of the VPD in April 2011, the company started researching on a number of concepts towards an internally conducted engineering study, which would be able to highlight the dedication of Tata Technologies towards sustainability and environmental responsibility. The concept has been able to showcase the capacity, knowledge, innovation and global experience that the company has.