Reva eyes NY for electric vehicle factory

Bangalore, India-based Reva Electric Car is narrowing down the locations for a U.S. factory to build its newest electric vehicle, the REVA NXR.

And Syracuse is emerging as one of the front runners thanks to state and federal financial incentives, as well as an unnamed manufacturing partner, according to a report today in The Post-Standard newspaper. 

Reva's manufacturing partner plans to build the plant in Onondaga County, employing 100 initially, the report said. The deal has not been finalized, but either Reva or the partner applied for $40 million in federal loan guarantees and other incentives, the newspaper reported.

The paper said it was unclear whether there was involvement from the non-profit economic development agency Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York.

"We are not ready to comment on the deal as it isn't finalized," an agency spokeswoman told the Cleantech Group today.

Earlier this week, Reva unveiled two highway-ready electric vehicles at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. The REVA NXR, a four-seat, three-door hatchback family car, is scheduled to go into production in 2010, while the REVA NXG, a sporty two-seater designed by Dilip Chhabria of DC Design, is set for 2011 (see Two new electric cars for India this month?).

The vehicles would follow in the footsteps of Reva's original electric car, the REVA, with a cost of Rs 300,000 to Rs 389,000 ($6,100 to $8,000) in India after government subsidies, and an operational cost of Rs 40 ($0.82) for 100 kilometers (see Reva-ing it up in Delhi!).

See photos of the REVA here »

Reva is a joint venture between Maini Group of India and AEV of California. The company’s backers include the Global Environment Fund and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

The company said in February it plans to double production of its electric mini-car with a facility underway in Bangalore with a capacity of 30,000 units per year (see REVA bucks auto trend with Indian expansion plans). Reva has 3,000 EVs on the road and is selling and marketing its cars in 24 countries, including Ireland, Belgium, Spain, Cyprus, Greece, France and Norway.

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