At a recently held Auto-Parts show in Beijing, Zotye Motors showcased the ‘5008 EV’ presented in Police uniform. This car is essentially the Daihatsu Terios which is also sold as the Premier Rio here in India.
This little SUV is powered by batteries that have a range of 200 km & the car has a top speed of 100 kmph. Now this got us wondering. What if Premier decides to bring this into India?
Its high time that the Suzuki Gypsy & the Mahindra Jeep get a replacement. Sure the replacement should be something flashy and worth upgrading, and not just another old Gypsy (read ‘olden goldie’).
But if you come to think of it, the Rio is not a bad looking car, has the perfect size for our congested cities and the electric motor could power an experimental fleet to see its performance and user-friendliness.
Since there is no viable option currently out there for our Police (the Boleros, Innovas and Sumos are a little too big and bulky), the Rio should work out just fine. But knowing the fact that bringing this car would require huge investments and seeing the lackluster approach by Premier for the Rio which is yet to receive a CRDI engine, we honestly do not expect this to come to India.
Source - The Tycho
