E-scooter makers Hero & Okinawa to boost growth by launching new vehicles

India's e-two wheeler market is all set to double its production to 45,000 units this year

Despite roadblock, in the form of Goods and Services Tax (GST), electric two-wheeler makers are going ahead with their investment plans.

Hero said it would invest around Rs 50-75 crore a year to bring high-speed scooters, while the new entrant Okinawa said it would invest around $40 million (around Rs 300 crore). Interestingly, Okinawa is even planning to manufacture batteries, through its vendors, locally.

India's e-two wheeler market is all set to double its production from 24,000 units to 45,000 units this year.

Hero, which is the market leader in the e-two wheeler space, claims around 65 per cent market share in the e-scooter space.

Sohinder Gill, CEO, Hero Electric & Director-Corporate Affairs added his company aims to be a Rs 1, 000-crore company in the next four years as against around Rs 100 crore. The company is planning to launch at least two new scooters every year for the next few years. Each would attract an investment of around Rs 25 crore.

Gill asserted that the company will also move to lithium ion battery across its range.

Jeetender Sharma, managing director of the Haryana-based Okinawa Autotech said the company will launch two-three models every year and one will be a motorcycle. The cost advantage is that a petrol vehicle would see a cost of around Rs 1.80 per kilometre whereas it is 20 paise for an electric vehicle.

Sharma, who claims that his company was the trendsetter when it comes to speed EV two-wheelers, said that it has filed for three patents. The upcoming launches include vehicles which can go up to around 100 kms, 200 kms in one single charge. The vehicles would be in 200cc to 250cc and could move at 100 km speed.

"This will address all the myth in EV industry that infrastructure is an issue," said Sharma.

Okinawa marked its presence in the market with the launch of Ridge e-scooter in January 2017. In the last six months, it claims that over 2,000 vehicles were sold in India. The company targets to be number one or number two in the EV two-wheeler space by 2020. It plans to accelerate growth by expanding its dealer network to around 500 over the next three years from the current 50. Of this, at least over 150 will be in tier-II cities.

Over the next three years, the company plans to invest around $40 million in the capacity ramp up and R&D. It currently has a facility in Bhiwadi in Rajasthan, with a capacity that could be at 1,80,000 units once it goes to two shifts. It is planning to have a capacity of one million vehicles, with expansion. Currently, lead acid batteries are used in Okinawa electric scooters but from coming quarter li-ion batteries will also be used in the scooters. The company is planning to manufacture them, through a third party, in India itself.