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Porsche’s SUV and the Indian-made submarine are both PHEVs. We take a ‘deep dive’ into what makes both machines tick.

Published On Aug 14, 2023 05:15:00 PM

As the sun sets, a large dark mass slips silently out of view. The cylindrical shape displaces water noiselessly as it submerges, the screw at the rear creates almost no churn, and, once the submarine pulls its periscope in and dives, it all but vanishes from the face of the earth. Totally invisible and near impossible to track, it slips through the water like a ghost.

Detection is made more difficult thanks to its shape; it’s designed to present the smallest cross section to anyone putting out an exploratory sonar ‘ping’. So serious are the designers about acoustic stealth, every single component on this submarine is insulated to prevent noise generation. You can’t kill what you can’t see; and here, the only way to ‘see’ is by using sound.

Hybrids you can charge

What goes almost unnoticed, however, is the submarine’s clever propulsion system. A diesel-electric submarine like the Kalvari Class is a very good example of the use of the right technology for the right application. In use since the late 1930s, the system is designed so that the diesel engines can do both, run the propeller and/or charge the batteries.

Hydroplanes flip, help the submarine dive under.

The diesel-electric submarine also, crucially, is a plug-in hybrid. Its batteries can be charged both by plugging in to a shore charger or by running the diesel engine out at sea. When it needs to charge, the boat rises to the surface, runs the diesel engine and charges the batteries. It can even charge the batteries while running just below the surface; all it has to do is put up a snorkel.

Wires go here to charge the submarine on shore.

Porsche’s Cayenne plug-in hybrid is similar in many ways. For one, you also plug it into a wall socket and charge the battery. It isn’t a very large battery, and at 14.1kWh, it gives you a range of only around 30km. But this can be sufficient, especially if you only need to run electric for short city runs. Like the submarine, the 3.0-litre, V6 petrol engine also charges the Cayenne on the move. This happens when you get off the throttle and slow down, and also when the generator is spun by the engine to make electricity.

Many periscopes and aerials are deployed here. 

In addition, the Porsche also has unique drive modes called E-Hold and E-Charge, selectable via the system menu on the screen. E-Hold keeps the level of the battery constant by topping it up regularly, and E-Charge goes one step further by actively taking the battery to full by running the engine at a higher speed than needed.

Kalvari in Malayalam means tiger shark.

While the submarine runs this part-electric system for greater stealth, the Porsche uses it to help deliver greater economy. The Cayenne, however, is still seriously performance-oriented. 0-100kph comes up in just 4.8 seconds and with combined power, at 455hp, there’s plenty of oomph. Pure electric power stands at 134hp and the petrol engine makes 335hp. Also, should you want to launch off the line on electric power alone, you can; the system is called E-Launch. To aid efficiency, Porsche has even given the throttle pedal a pressure point or detent that you can feel as you accelerate. Go beyond this and the combustion engine starts up.

On the surface

Before we get into the various systems and sub-systems of the Kalvari class boat, let’s take a quick look at just what we can see above the surface. But first, some perspective. It is big and very heavy. Approximately 70 metres long from stem to stern, with the conning tower and periscopes stretching around 12 metres high, it’s a fair-sized ‘boat’. And with a displacement of around 1,600 tonnes, it’s heavy. How heavy? Approximately the weight of 800 SUVs, if you take a rough average of two tonnes a car. Now for the details, and let’s start from the rear, where the propulsion takes place. Although we can’t see the screw or the propeller, the Kalvari class submarine uses a single multi-bladed prop, placed behind the large rudder.

E-Charge mode actively tops up batteries for you.

Up next, under some removable panels, sits a nest of plug points. Unlike a regular wall socket, the male part of the plug is fixed to the submarine and protected with a rubber casing. No, seriously. To charge the batteries on the submarine, you attach multiple plugs with high-tension leads coming from the shore. Don’t know how long it takes to charge the batteries, but I’m guessing the charging rate is high.

As I walk along, up next are stumps that have to be folded out. These help secure the boat to the dock. Don’t see a traditional anchor anywhere. Further ahead is the escape hatch for the submarine in case it gets stranded underwater and needs rescue. The rescue craft can affix itself onto the top of the hatch and take the sailors out.

The Cayenne can run as a pure EV for short distances.

Just below the conning tower is the main hatch. Yes, this is where you enter and exit from, not the top of the conning tower as many believe. While the conning tower looks plain and featureless, there’s actually a lot going on here. For one, take the teardrop-like shape that helps it slip through the water.

Above the conning tower sit a whole host of periscopes. While some are for navigation, others are for attack and weapons release. There are also communication aerials and others that send out radar waves when the sub is just below the surface. The wide chimney-like unit is the snorkel that takes in air for the diesel, and it is used when the sub is running just below the surface.

It can slip just under the surface and, via a snorkel, continue to run its diesel.

On either side of the conning tower are a pair of hydroplanes or control surfaces that help the sub dive or rise up. They work in tandem with similar ones on the tail. And the glass panels you see ahead of the conning tower aren’t windows but navigation lights.

The rounded nose of the submarine is also where the cylindrical sonar array, side firing sonar and the six torpedo tubes sit. Not only can the tubes fire massive wire-guided torpedoes, but two of the tubes can also be used to fire the SM-39 Exocet anti-shipping missile. The Exocet missile can take out a target that is several kilometres away.

Below deck

As fascinating as the Kalvari class is on the outside, the insides of the boat are even more of an eye-opener. Produced right here in Mumbai by the Mazagon Dockyard, to a design penned by the French Naval Group (formerly DCNS), Indian Kalvari class boats, however, differ significantly from French-produced Scorpène.

 

Our tour of the insides starts with a climb down into the submarine. As on all submarines, space is tight, and living quarters, even for the captain, are small. Still, these boats have showers and other luxuries not present on earlier Russian subs.

Just as we did topside, let’s start from the rear, where a prop-shaft sends power to the propeller or screw. The power going out to the back is converted from the battery’s DC to AC. To do this, more than 15 individual inverters are used, and these sit in a room just behind the propeller shaft. As we walk towards the centre of the submarine, we pass the huge and silent running electric motor – which is almost as large as the hull of the sub and measures between eight and ten feet in diameter. Up next, something very familiar, massive diesel engines, or, as they are called on this boat, diesel generators. And then we peer into the large battery pack, one of two on the boat.

Kalvari-class making a good rate of knots on the surface.

Then we enter the control room where there are rows of screens on each side and a large screen-based tactical table. Here, the captain gets a clear and live visual representation of the current scenario via feeds from cameras, sonars, radars and sensors; all fused into one. Right alongside is a choice of periscopes, and the captain has easy access to all of them.

One of the biggest challenges a sub faces underwater is navigation. Visibility even during the day is near zero, the submarine for the most part is blind as a bat, and then, once it drops below the surface, it is only electronics, sonar and satellites that can help. But can you imagine what it must have been like in the old days, being blindfolded and told to navigate in the inky depths with only a chart and a stopwatch in your hand? Yes, you have sonar, but once you put out a ‘ping’, everyone knows where you are, and then it’s game over. So subs generally use only passive sonar, where they just listen for sounds.

Both missiles and torpedoes can be fired from tubes.

The other major challenge is buoyancy. To enable it to drive, the submarine has ballast tanks and trim tanks that are filled with water or air. When the submarine has to dive, the tanks are filled with water. To come up, compressed air is pumped back in.

Best of both worlds

The Kalvari class submarines are a much-needed shot in the arm for the Indian Navy. Technologically advanced, bristling with sensors and noise reduction tech and armed to the teeth, India’s new family of submarines also make the best use of both diesel and electric systems.

Submarines are made in Mazagon Dock, Mumbai.

This is something the Porsche e-hybrid does as well. While plug-in hybrids aren’t very popular yet, due in part to the additional costs associated with running two full systems, they could be where we are headed, once costs come down.

Plug-in hybrid drive has some unique driver modes.

Cars are, however, still likely to lag behind subs technologically. Kalvari class submarines will soon be upgraded to use a fuel cell system. This will help give them greater endurance underwater. Designed, engineered and tested in India by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the fuel cell or AIP (Air Independent Propulsion) systems could give the Kalvari class submarines a crucial edge. How soon will cars catch up and start using fuel cell tech? That’s anybody’s guess.

A submarine is all about three important things: silence, stealth and surprise.

*specs and data taken from multiple sources

Copyright (c) Autocar India. All rights reserved.

Mahindra recently teased the Thar EV concept, which will see a global debut on August 15 in South Africa. Officially known as the Thar.e, the design is a radical departure from the evolved CJ-like look of the current Thar. This is significant for two reasons – the fresh design allows Mahindra to future-proof the Thar brand and keep it current; and what’s equally important is that Mahindra will now be able to export its offroader to the other parts of the world, without legislators in certain markets squinting their eyes and seeing something else.

Mahindra Thar.e concept: the new look, clean-cut elements

Though teaser images of the new Thar.e reveal only bits of the car, look close and you can see a lot more. Initially, your attention is drawn to the square headlight at the upper right of the frame. To its left, the low-angle shot reveals a rectangular black grille with the words ‘THAR.e’ emblazoned across; note that the letters for THAR are now in a new ‘modern’ font. And what you can also see clearly, protruding out lower down, is part of a black bumper. Not sure how pedestrian safety has been taken care of.

Once you see the headlight, grille and bumper as a single unit, it is not difficult to imagine what the face of the new Thar.e looks like. Whereas the current Thar still has an upright grille and fenders that pop out, the Thar.e is a clean break, with nothing apparently carried over. What also makes it stand out is that the skinning is clean and the surface is made up of ‘flat’ panels’ with neatly defined edges – the fresh but friendly look not too dissimilar to that seen on the Honda E. But where the Honda has a rounded form, the Thar.e has flat sections.

Mahindra Thar.e concept: fresh details

The Thar.e is also full of interesting details. The square and sectioned LED headlight has been provided with some visual depth, the chamfered section between the bonnet and fender (top right) adds some muscle, and then the Thar.e even has some sort of hook or towing eye in red. One thing’s for sure, Mahindra designers must be complimented for arriving at the hard-to-attain simplicity the design exudes. The design even manages to offer some rugged appeal, despite clearly conveying a high-tech impression.

There’s still a lot to see on the Thar.e – such as whether the wheel arches will be squared or rounded – and while we still haven’t seen stuff like proportions and volumes, the first clean sheet design under ex-Tata Motors’ designer Pratap Bose’s watch seems to be off to a great start. The best bit, Mahindra will have the freedom to sell it wherever it likes. Can’t wait to see the whole Thar.e concept on Independence Day.

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Tata Motors says it hopes to sell about 10,000 electric vehicles every month as it expands its line-up to over half a dozen vehicles in the next year. The company has achieved the milestone of 1 lakh EVs in sales in the last five years, and expects to sell the next 1 lakh units within 12-14 months, said a senior executive of the company.

Celebrating its latest milestone, Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, tells Autocar India, “The first 10,000 units would have taken us nearly 44 months. Then 50,000 [10,000 to 50,000 units] took us an additional 15 months, and the next 50,000 happened in nine months. Now, the next 1 lakh should happen in 12-14 months is what I would expect.”

With about 19,000 EVs in sales in the first quarter of FY24 (April-June 2023), group CFO PB Balaji has said Tata Motors is on the path to an annual volume of 1 lakh electric vehicles. The company, which seeded EVs in key markets, to begin with, has already penetrated over 130 cities with more than 250 dealers. In the last five years, over 6,500 public chargers have come up, which is fast moving to 10,000 chargers. There are chargers being set up at 1,500 residential complexes with 1 lakh home chargers already.

With the introduction of the Tiago EV, the penetration of zero-emission vehicles accelerated to 14-15 percent of the company’s total sales, and it has now set a vision of 50 percent penetration by 2030. Chairman Natrajan Chandrasekaran recently confirmed that in the next few quarters, four new EVs (Nexon EV facelift, Punch EV, Harrier EV and Curvv EV) will be launched, and this is set to expand the price point from Rs 8.5 lakh with Tiago EV at the entry-level to the Rs 30 lakh Harrier EV at the top.

‘A calculated gamble’: Shailesh Chandra

The management sees the journey as a transformational one, given the fact that when the company kicked off its EV business, the vendors didn’t believe them, customers felt that the EVs were the cars for the future, and there were hardly any players to invest in infrastructure. “When we entered the market, there were no enablers, and the market was not ready for electrification,” recalls Chandra on the journey. “But as a Group we took a bet given the challenges of pollution, climate change and higher dependence on imports, and the bet has paid off. Today, the suppliers want to invest, the customer mindset has transformed faster than we thought and the charging infrastructure came up faster than expected.”

He said it was a gamble, but a calculated gamble with a mitigation strategy of introducing electric powertrain through three different interventions – Gen-1 based on existing vehicle architecture; Gen-2 adapting new-gen architecture to accommodate both ICE and EV powertrains; and Gen-3 based on born-EV skateboard architecture. “This allowed us to launch EVs at almost 1/10th the cost, while gaining market insights,” Chandra says.

But these learnings came through addressing niggling issues. Since it is a new technology in a new environment, Chandra admits that Tata Motors faced certain problems and so did its customers. “The idea was that we respond to those problems fast and do the root cause analysis, doing combinations of immediate and permanent corrective actions, and today the technology has matured a lot. There are lesser problems today than we see,” he adds.

Tata Motors has a strong first-mover advantage and the learnings of the last five years will hold the company in good stead. The company today has a market share of over 85 percent and it is well funded to create a portfolio of over 10 EVs by the end of 2025-’26. It has committed an investment of USD 2 billion (roughly Rs 16,580 crore) in the EV business starting in 2022 over a period of five years. 

Also see:

Tata Group likely to procure battery from global supplier Envision AESC

‘No plans for hybrids, focused on EVs’: Tata Motors chairman

Simple Energy already has its debut offering on sale, in the form of the One e-scooter that became available to buyers a few months ago. Now, the company has trademarked the Dot One nametag, and it’s likely that it could feature on an upcoming model that will be more affordable.

Priced between Rs 1.45 and 1.50 lakh, the One is a rather expensive proposition, and a big part of that is down to its rather large 5kWh total battery capacity. The recent cut in the FAME-2 subsidy will only have added to Simple’s challenges, and therefore the most likely possibility is that the new Dot One nametag will find its way onto a more affordable entry-level offering that will quite possibly sport a smaller battery pack.

Sources close to the company indicate a claimed range in the ballpark of 180km for the upcoming model, which is slightly lower than the 212km claimed IDC range for the One. This further supports the notion that the Dot One will receive a slightly smaller battery pack, and Simple could also cut down on some of the features to help reduce costs. The 5kWh capacity on the One is split between a fixed pack in the floorboard and a removable pack in the underseat area, and perhaps Simple could move to a ‘simpler’ design featuring only a single fixed battery pack.

Meanwhile, as Simple Energy seemingly prepares to launch new products, its debut offering has seen a slow start, with the government’s VAHAN portal showing just 32 Simple scooters registered since it became available to buyers in May. This comes two years after the company first ‘launched’ the product on 15 August 2021, then at Rs 1.1 lakh. Despite this, Simple Energy claims to have received over 1 lakh bookings in the pre-launch period of the One.

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Mahindra has launched two new manual variants of the XUV300 compact SUV, and the compact SUV’s prices start at Rs 7.99 lakh.

1. All W4 variants get a sunroof 
2. W4 variant extends to the Turbosport model
3. New, entry-level W2 variant introduced

Mahindra XUV300 W2 

Mahindra has introduced a new W2 base variant on the compact SUV, which sits below the W4 variant. This variant is available exclusively with one engine and gearbox option – a 110hp, 200Nm, 1.2-litre turbo-petrol mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox. With this new base model costing Rs 7.99 lakh, ex-showroom, we expect that the vehicle will lose certain features that are available on the W4. However, the company has not shared any details with us yet.

Mahindra XUV300 Turbosport W4

The sportier model in the XUV line-up, the Turbosport, also gets a new W4 base trim that’s priced at Rs 9.29 lakh. It was previously available only from the W6 trim onwards, which is Rs 1.2 lakh less than the W6. This new W4 trim is available only with a 6-speed manual and has 131hp and 230Nm on tap.

In addition, all W4 variants now get a sunroof, which was previously available only from the W6 variant onwards. Mahindra will also introduce a panoramic sunroof with the facelift of the XUV300 next year. The W4 variant is now available with three engine options – 2 petrol and a diesel – but only with a manual gearbox. 

As is the case with the W2, the company has not shared the revised feature list with us, so it is not known what the W4 misses out on over the W6.

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Tata Motors chairperson Natarajan Chandrasekaran says that while there is a big push towards electric vehicles in the Indian market, the internal combustion engine is not going to go away anytime soon. Chandrasekaran was addressing the shareholders at the 78th Annual General Meeting on Tuesday.

The focus on multi-powertrain has helped Tata Motors bring in incremental sales, however, the brand has no plans to bring in hybrid vehicles, a technology that the market leader Maruti Suzuki, along with its alliance partner Toyota, is betting on. At the meeting, Tata Motors also confirmed that it will bring as many as four electric SUVs – the Nexon EV facelift, Punch EV, Harrier EV and the Curvv EV – by early next year.

Chandrasekaran says that by the end of this decade, the EV penetration for passenger vehicles will be 50 percent, and so internal combustion engines like petrol, diesel and CNG will still have a strong presence. “Currently, we don’t have any plans for hybrids. We are focused on EVs, on commercial vehicles, and heavy trucks; we will have hydrogen trucks,” he adds.

Tata Motors has committed Rs 8,000 crore to its standalone business for the financial year of 2024, it has committed about USD 2 billion (approximately Rs 17,000 crore) to its EV business through its subsidiary, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility. On the long-term growth potential of the market, Chandrasekaran says, “The Indian market will move towards 10 million units per annum over time and Tata Motors is well positioned to capture the growth as well as gain market share.”

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Tata Power unveils Ez Charge card for EVs