Finance minister P. Chidambaram and minister for science and technology Kapil Sibal inspecting the Reva in New Delhi on Wednesday. Picture by Prem Singh

New Delhi, May 11: The new and advanced model of the country’s first and only electric car ? the Reva ? will not hit the Indian roads for some time now though it has been showcased in Monaco recently.

Christened as Reva NXG, the next generation electric vehicle was launched last month at the EVS 21 ? the global battery, hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicle symposium and exhibition in Monaco ? by Reva Electric Car Company (RECC).

However, the price of the Reva has not been decided yet, said sources.

The two-seater roadster can drive up to 200 km per charge at a maximum speed of 120 km per hour. Powered by a 37-kilowatt induction (alternate current) motor, it uses sodium nickel chloride batteries in place of conventional lead acid batteries for a longer life.

The car is fitted with a wireless tablet that integrates into a high-resolution touch-screen display system. It links to the car’s functions such as speed, state of charge, range and critical censor inputs as well as personal communication tools. It has a GPS-based navigation system, Internet and MP3 facility.

“Indian scientists have come up with an improved version of the indigenously produced electric car, Reva,” science and technology minister Kapil Sibal said. “Indian technology is on a par with others worldwide and cars are by far the most cost-effective products today,” he added.

The Reva, a zero polluting vehicle for city mobility, was commercially rolled out in June 2001 and the mini car is the result of a collaborative effort of RECC, automobile designer Dilip Chhabria and simputer developer Encore Software.

“The joint effort marks an important milestone in public-private partnerships,” the minister said.

Sibal also said Rs 916 crore has been collected as research and development cess on import of technology.