‘We aim to provide technology to every range of vehicle users’
Published on : Thursday 05-12-2019
Veteran Sqn Ldr Prerana Chaturvedi, CEO, Evolet India talks about the new range of electric two wheelers launched recently. Evolet India launched its range of Electric Scooters recently. What is the background of the company?
Evolet India, a unit of Rissala Electric Motors, belongs to a group that has various business verticals in diverse segments like hospitality, wellness, lifestyle, sports and progressive agriculture. The company was incorporated on June 2019 and the brand name ‘Evolet’ was registered in August 2019. The products were formally launched on 4th September 2019 at New Delhi and commercial operations began from 1st October 2019 with the plant set up at Bilaspur, Haryana.
Leading from the front are veteran defence officers with over two decades of experience in armed forces with electric scooters and motorcycles for cantonments and air bases. The basic aim was to provide clean, quiet, friendly, and affordable electric two-wheelers to defence forces. Adding to our strength is working with the top brains – IIT students, German, French and Italian scientists – on the technology front. Over the years we have tested more than 2,000 vehicles in various models of 2W, 4W in extreme weather conditions; from hot deserts to heights and chills – and thus began our commercial venture under the brand name ‘Evolet’, which has started manufacturing EVs in 2W, 4W and bus segment for the public at large, corporations and government bodies. Evolet is spearheaded by Mr Kamaljeet Kataria, President, a full-time businessman and its operations are led veteran trailblazers Colonel Ajay Ahlawat and self, Squadron Leader Prerana Chaturvedi.
How is the initial response post the launch?
We aim to provide technology to every range of vehicle users and to fit every budget. It is nothing short of 'harakiri' to launch auto products during financial slowdown/depression in the market but the response has been amazing. We have finalised our dealerships in the States of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Telangana, besides Nepal and Bangladesh, and the showrooms will come up by March 2020. The plan is to open 100 plus dealerships across India by end of 2020. We are aggressively charting our plan and are targeting sales of around 150 units per month per dealership. Evolet has also identified key exports markets within the Asia Pacific and the Middle East, and plans to start exporting of products by 2020.
These are early days for EVs in India. What are the obstacles on this road?
As of now, we do not see a challenge that has not been worked upon. The EV market is at a nascent stage and is going through the normal drill that is expected whenever a disruptor enters a market. The EV market will change the way people commute as it is a cost-effective means that people have been looking for.
As a company, Evolet is committed to investing more in terms of technology, people, aftermarket network, spares, and service and will continue to invest and grow in this space.
You are talking about an AI-enabled model. What are the highlights here?
Many top models are IoT enabled, which give riders a host of information such as battery health, charging status, and security tracking on the phone using GPS. Other highlights of our products are efficient after-sales-service, quick availability of spare parts, and light-weight swappable batteries.
Charging infrastructure for EVs remains a problem, even for two-wheelers. How can this be addressed?
It is a pressing issue and various measures are being talked about. However, keeping it in mind we are providing swappable batteries with our products that provide an extra battery to the consumer in case the charge of one battery is over. We are focussing on the charging infrastructure for electrification of the automotive industry. We are doing meaningful things to secure charging infrastructure not only for Evolet customers but for other brands as well.
Another major hurdle is psychological – even if the average commute is less, consumers expect a longer ride per charge. Your observation?
It is obvious and for this, the industry is working tirelessly to come up with batteries that can last longer. In fact, as part of the Central government’s FAME scheme, there is an allocation of Rs 1,000 crore for setting up charging stations for electric vehicles in India. The scheme also proposes to establish charging infrastructure, including 2,700 charging stations to be set up along highways at intervals of about 25 km. So the customer should rest assured that the government is working on a war footing on EVs and concern associated with it.
Today manufacturing plants need to be highly efficient and automated. How does the manufacturing facility measure on this point?
Our Bilaspur, Haryana, facility has a capacity of manufacturing 3.5 lakh two-wheelers per annum and a built-up area of 1.4 lakh sq.ft. Also, spread over 2 lakh sq.ft, the two other facilities at Hyderabad and Chennai too are fully-equipped to churn out 1,500 buses per annum.
We are establishing a pan India network with distribution, sales, service and customer support, being set up in the States of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Telangana, Haryana, Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, besides Nepal and Bangladesh. We also plan to set up a Lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in India, besides setting up a series of battery charging stations with solar panels in various cities.
What about the technology and the components? How many vendors are involved?
The company is riding high on technology, designs and customer-centric products. Varied products of the company include slow and medium speed scooters and high-speed bikes that will save the pain of registration for the consumers and can be used for short-distance travel. Most of our components in the power train segment have been designed with German technology. The technology highlight is the seamless integration of vehicle with power train, synchronised with BMS, communication through IoT to the mobile application, all of which are built in-house. This seamless integration of the key components that are all built in-house offers an acute price advantage and complete control over services offered while creating greater efficiency and improving the user's experience. Our products go through stringent tests and are certified by ARAI and ICAT. We have invested heavily in building IT infrastructure along with research and development, to answer the needs of the future.
The spare parts of e-scooters will be made available through our dealers for convenience of customers. After-sales service, spare parts and accessories business is another revenue centre for the dealer.
At present, we are sourcing material for two-wheelers manufacturing through multiple vendors, which will soon be consolidated to just 35, so as to optimise cost, but only after the plant production reaches its full capacity.