EVHUB.IN Exclusive: Reinventing the Indian electric two-wheeler market

KHARAGPUR, India - July 27, 2013 - PRLog -- Please tell us something about how you began your journey in the EV space.

I was associated with M/s Electromobiles India Ltd in the year 1979 in Mysore where we were manufacturing EV two wheelers and small Electric 3 wheeler trolleys to transport material in industries.We had an imported prototype of  a 750 watts 2 wheeler running on 24volts lead acid batteries.We re-engineered this prototype to make it suitable for Indian roads, we had to indigenize the vehicle as far as possible because of two reasons, one being we were not allowed to import the vehicle in kit form and also no kits were available in CKD form so that it could assembled as done today. This vehicle had a maximum speed of 35kph and range of 60km using two 12V 70Ah lead acid batteries. This vehicle was approved by Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) Pune. Electromobiles had also developed and supplied to Dept. of Science & Technology Govt. of India five prototypes of EV auto rickshaws which were used to ferry athletes and officials in the 1982 ASIAN games held in Delhi.

How would you describe the Indian two wheeler EV market shaping up over the past decade? Especially in comparison to China which has now become the largest electric two-wheeler market in the world.

India started assembling two wheeler EVs, perhaps, around 2004 by importing complete kits in CKD-form from China. These were rated at 250 Watts or 500 Watts and probably some had a peak power over 1000 Watts. A lot people bought these EVs but were disappointed by their performance and quality.The speed, range and carrying capacity were compromised to offer cheaper products. Many of the firms who started this way have closed down since no effort was made to ascertain the durability of all components used in these imported kits. Moreover, the performance of these were not comparable with petrol-driven two-wheelers available in the Indian market.

China manufactures millions of electric cycles and small EV scooters every year. These are used for commuting for a maximum 20 kms everyday though these are allowed to run only in dedicated lanes meant for slow vehicles. The peculiarity one can observe is the total lack of petrol two-wheelers in the main Chinese cities where they are banned to curb atmospheric pollution. For some peculiar reason, higher powered EV 2 wheelers are not allowed to ply on Chinese roads.

The EV kits imported into India are meant for short trips of 10 kms each way (20 kms to & fro). We are trying to use EV scooters as an alternate to petrol-driven counterparts and these EV scooters have not lived up to the expectations.

What do you think on the potential of electric two wheelers in the Indian market?

India has a large thriving market and a large percentage of our population aspire to own to two-wheelers by now. At least 5% of the two wheelers produced should have been electric two-wheelers, but for the reasons I mentioned above, this has not been achieved. An E-scooter should be able to match the performance of that of a100 cc petrol-driven scooter. Some of the requirements are: It should be able to carry two persons (150 kgs load); max speed of 60kph; must be able to climb normal gradient easily; should have a range of 70 to 80 Kms per charge.

In my opinion, to achieve this performance in electric scooters, there should be some technical specifications of the components used. The minimum requirement would be for motor of 2500-3000 watts peak power. Battery should be Lithium Ferrous Phosphate of 2400 watt hour capacity having a life of 1000 cycles @ 80% depth of discharge. The scooter should have 80% drivetrain efficiency consisting of both motor & controller, along with an efficient charger.

What are your thoughts on the pricing of such advanced technology electric scooters in the Indian market?

The present selling cost of the scooter would be INR80,000 to INR90,000 at a production place of  500 vehicles per month. We should bear in mind that an electric scooter will be 30 to 40 % costlier than its petrol counterpart. The analogy is like comparing the cost of producing hydroelectric power with that of Thermal power. Hydroelectric power has higher fixed costs and lower running costs whereas Thermal power has lower fixed costs with higher running costs.

To manufacture the vehicles, prototypes can be imported and indigenized as far as possible using Indian components. The remaining components can be developed progressively. Large scale manufacturers can think of converting their existing scooter platform into electric version. We have prototypes ready of electric scooters with 2500Watt motors which will meet all the above parameters.

Can you tell more about the E-scooter model which was developed by you?

The E-Scooter developed by us has a peak power 2500W with with LIFEPO4 60V 40AH batteries. It covers 80kw range with a single charge with a 40 kmph speed at eco mode and 60 kmph in power mode with exceptionally good performance with high gradient slopes with pillion.

Are you looking for any partners for making his venture success? What type of partnership you are looking for?

Yes, we are open for investors, technical experts, two wheeler component manufacturing companies who can support be part of our vision of reinventing Indian electric two wheeler market.