Sri Lanka will launch its first-ever luxury electric supercar named “Vega” in April 2020, marking a new milestone in the island nation’s automobile industry.
The master builder of the luxury car, techno-entrepreneur Harsha Subasinghe, who is the chief executive of CodeGen, said that following a test drive of the Vega last week, the “supercar” will be launched at the annual International Motor Show in Geneva in 2020, reports Xinhua news agency.
Subasinghe said that the 300 kw battery-powered car with a 240 km range would be the first-ever luxury, all-electric “supercar” made in Sri Lanka and in the Asian region.
“The supercar is presently at test levels. Vega does a quick zero-to-100 mph in 3.1 seconds. It is a 900 bhp supercar and is designed, both interior and exterior, and manufactured locally,” Subasinghe said.
“We are ready to do something new for our country. I am sure it will be a product that will make all Sri Lankans really proud. We also wanted to encourage our youth to take Sri Lanka forward.”
According to the company’s website, Vega is world class high performance electric vehicle that is a ‘pioneering venture’ that would be the first-ever such vehicle to be developed and manufactured in Sri Lanka.
Harsha further claimed that the Vega is powered by a 300 kw battery pack which gives it a range of 240 kilometers. It reportedly does zero to 100 kmph in just 3.1 seconds and produces 900 bhp of peak power figures. The car is being developed in Sri Lanka with the help of numerous partners.
While Vega could be a strong statement from CodeGen and Sri Lanka about the prowess of south Asian companies and entrepreneurs, the challenge of providing supporting infrastructure to electric cars remains clear and present in many countries in the region.
A number of established car companies, with all their expertise and resources, are only now taking up the task of adding electric cars to their product portfolios. While China remains the largest market, Europe and the United States too is slowly catching up. India has also given impetus to electric mobility with a number of manufacturers now gearing up to drive in their electric offerings.
-Agencies
