New age mobility start-up, Motovolt launched on Tuesday the Urbn e-bike, which essentially is an e-cycle, in two trim levels starting at INR 49,999.
The radical design of the product, which resembles a moped, is an approach to appeal to the younger customers, said Tushar Choudhary, Founder and CEO, Motovolt, during his interaction with Mobility Outlook.
The Urbn e-bike is 80% localised, features a newly-developed chassis, and shares its drivetrain with existing products from the company. The 16Ah 36 V lithium-ion removable battery pack gives the e-bike a claimed range of 120 km on a single charge, while the BLDC motor provides an output of 40 Nm, the company said.
In addition to headlight and taillight, the Urbn features dual disc brake, dual suspension, pedal assist sensor with multiple riding modes and multi-functional switch console with four inch multi-functional display.
The claimed loading capacity of the product is 120 kg, making it an attractive proposition for last mile delivery business. Choudhary confirmed Motovolt has already tied-up with several last mile delivery players.
Moreover, Motovolt expects a fair share of its customer base to come from rural India. In fact, one-fifth of its 5,000 bookings have come from the rural market, Choudhary confirmed. The rural market, in addition to the Tier II cities, contribute 15% of Motovolt’s total sales. Notably, the company had recently announced its partnership with the e-commerce initiative by CSC SPV – CSC grameer e-store – to cater to these markets.
Expansion Plans
Motovolt is also lining up an aggressive investment plan worth INR 200 crore till December 2023, which would see its retail network growing from 35 outlets currently to 200 by the end of FY23. Since its inception in 2019, the company has invested INR 60 crore, the CEO noted. The company expects to close the current financial year with sales of 20,000 units.
The planned investment will also be utilised to increase the company’s annual production capacity at its Kolkata facility, from the 40,000 units currently to 100,000 units. The company also intends to set-up another plant in North India to bring down the logistic cost incurred for the northern market.
By December 2023, the company plans to launch three additional products that are expected to carry the same electronics as the current products. The drivetrain would, however, need some advancements, the founder hinted.
Around the same time, the company expects to venture into the US and the European market. “The China +1 strategy is working out, and manufacturers in the US and European market are looking at alternate supplies from India,” said Choudhary. It is already in talks with potential customers in those markets, he said.
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