Ultraviolette Automotive forays into Europe with focus on five nations

Electric bike maker Ultraviolette Automotive on Wednesday announced its foray into the European market as it looks to tap growth opportunities in the international markets.

The Bengaluru-based company launched its flagship electric bike F77 in Europe with deliveries expected to commence in the second quarter of 2024.

The bike is set to be priced between 9,000 to 11,000 euro in Europe, subject to federal/state government incentives and taxes.

In an interaction with PTI on the sidelines of EICMA two-wheeler motor show here, Ultraviolette Founder and CEO Narayan Subramaniam said the company will focus on five countries in the continent in the first phase.

"In Europe our immediate focus is Italy, Spain, France, Germany and the UK. These five countries would be our immediate target. And then of course, we can look at scaling to other countries as well," he noted.

Subramaniam said the company is in active conversation with multiple distributors and dealers in the five geographies.

"It will be a model where it would be distributor-led business expansion in these markets but the brand will remain very connected with all of the aspects around technology to marketing to service," he added.

When asked about reasons for entering Europe and not other high volume markets like South East Asia or Latin America, Subramaniam said: "For us, it is all about confidence in the product. If you're able to crack the European market, that means you are now capable of scaling to any geography in the world."

Secondly, the company has seen a lot of interest in the F77 bike emanating from Europe.

"We know there is a high demand for what we're developing, along with the fact that being able to service a market like Europe means that you need very high quality, design and technology which we think our product possesses," he said.

Ultraviolette founder and CTO Niraj Rajmohan said the company will start with fully built up imports into the five markets.

"And over time as and when the business scales I think we will be looking at even localised production," he noted.

The company, in which TVS Motor Company is an investor, on Wednesday also unveiled the F99 Factory Racing Platform which can attain a top speed of 265 kph.

The global commercial launch of the F99 is anticipated by 2025.

"As we set our sights on the global markets, the premiere of the F99 Factory Racing Platform further testifies to the passion, innovation, and relentless pursuit of excellence that started with the F77 and now seamlessly evolves into the F99," Subramaniam said.

Established in 2016, Ultraviolette commenced selling F77 bike earlier this year from Bengaluru.

The company plans to scale up its presence to multiple cities over the next one year.