10-Year Ban? This Man Beat The System By Converting His Old Santro Into An Electric Car

Many people who own 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol cars from North India have been forced to either scrap their vehicles or sell them in other states due to a blanket ban. Now, there are a few people who are taking a different approach, and that is to convert their old cars into EVs using retrofit EV kits. Here is someone that shared a video of himself converting his grandfather's old Hyundai Santro into an EV in just three days. He highlights that his per km cost comes to one rupee.

Old Santro converted into EV

The video showing and explaining the conversion process of this particular old Hyundai Santro has been shared on YouTube by Making with Mihir on their channel. It starts off with the boy mentioning that this old Hyundai Santro hatchback belongs to his grandfather. He adds that he went to school in this car, learned to drive in it, and his overall childhood was spent around this car.

Following this, he mentions that now that the government has implemented the 10- and 15-year ban on old cars, he thought that instead of letting go of this car, he could convert it into electricity on his own. After this, he started the process of the Santro's conversion.

Conversion process of this Santro

The host first starts off by explaining the basics of how an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) works. He mentions that in a traditional IC engine, combustion takes place in the top half of the block, and the pistons then push a crankshaft.

Following this, power is generated, and using a transmission and other mechanical components, it powers the wheels. During the explanation, the host also highlights that an engine also powers other important components such as the steering pump, AC compressor, and the alternator, along with others.

Now, due to this, the presenter ran into an issue, as replacing the entire engine with an electric motor would cause these components to not function. So, instead of removing the entire engine, the host only removed the top portion of the engine.

After this, he mounted an electric motor on the bottom half and made sure that all mechanical connections were intact. He then highlighted that the most expensive part of this conversion is the Lithium Phosphate (LiFePO4) battery, which is installed in the rear. He explains this battery pack offers 72V to the electric motor at the front.

Difficulties faced

Although this entire project was finished in three days, the host did run into some major problems. The first of these was the braking issue. He explained that regular ICEs have an engine-powered brake booster to enhance braking power. However, without the engine, the braking power was compromised.

So, in order to keep braking performance the same, the host added an external electrical brake booster powered by a 12V battery. Another issue was that, as this vehicle was missing an alternator to charge the 12V battery, the host had to think out of the box and buy a 72V to 12V converter to keep the smaller battery charged up.

Key specs of this Santro EV

The presenter mentions that the total range on this electric-converted Santro is 80 km on a single full charge. As for the top speed, it is 60 kmph. He added that the cost per km of this vehicle comes out to one rupee, which is very affordable. The only downside is that it is now 900 kgs. A unique thing about this Santro EV is that it still retains its gearbox, and it has to be filled with engine oil.