TVS Motor forays into electric mobility; unveils smart scooter iQube

TVS Motor Company, the manufacturer of two-wheelers and three-wheelers, on Saturday announced its foray into electric mobility with the launch of the scooter TVS iQube Electric in Bengaluru.

TVS iQube Electric is a green and connected, urban scooter powered by advanced electric drivetrain and next-gen TVS SmartXonnect platform.

“TVS Motor is driven by customer-centric innovation. As India moves ahead, its mobility solutions would increasingly be total experience-led, nowhere is this felt sharper than among the youth of India,” said  Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor Company. “Our focus on the ‘green and connected’ youth of India, is embodied, in the first of the TVS Electric portfolio. TVS iQube Electric is a blend of an advanced electric drivetrain and the next-gen TVS SmartXonnect platform.”

TVS iQube Electric is equipped with 4.4 kW electric motor to deliver both high power and efficiency with no transmission loss. The scooter has a maximum speed of 78 kmph and traverses 75 kms in full charge. It comes with an impressive acceleration of 0 to 40 kmph in 4.2 seconds.

The connected vehicle has multiple features such as geo-fencing,  remote battery charge status, navigation assist, last park location, Incoming call alerts and SMS alerts. It also comes with innovative features for delivering convenience such as Q-park assist, multi-select economy and power mode, day and night display, regenerative braking and provides a noiseless ride. It is also equipped with crystal-clear LED headlamps, all-LED tail lamps and sports an illuminating logo.

Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways of India and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, who was present at the launch of the vehicle said that it is a dream for the country to have electric bikes, cars, motorcycles and buses.  “I am confident that the scenario ( for transportation sector) is definitely going to change, which is very helpful for the economy and create more jobs and most importantly it is going to reduce pollution,” said Gadkari. “I am thankful to TVS (for this initiative). It is really important that you are making new decisions and new innovations and encouraging engineers. I am here to (provide) support to you. I am really confident by exporting these scooters, you are going to create more jobs.”

The India electric vehicle ecosystem market is expected to reach $216.3 billion by 2030, according to  a report by BIS Research."The government target for 30 per cent adoption of electric vehicles by 2030 is expected to be majorly driven by the electrification of two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and commercial vehicles in India," said Ajeya Saxena, lead analyst at BIS Research. "A lower rate of adoption of electric vehicles in the passenger vehicle segment is expected to have a limited impact in achieving these targets."