Ultraviolette bets on scooters to drive volumes as Hosur plant takes shape

Tesseract targeted to quickly scale to 10,000 units a month; EV maker sees scooters and motorcycles contributing equally at scale, exports rising to 25% of volumes

Electric vehicle (EV) maker Ultraviolette Automotive is betting on its entry into scooters to drive a sharp increase in volumes from 2027, as the Bengaluru-based company prepares to commission its new manufacturing facility at Tamil Nadu’s Hosur and expands beyond its performance motorcycle roots.

 

The company's upcoming Tesseract electric scooter (escooter), scheduled to enter the market in the first quarter of calendar year 2027 (Q1CY27), is expected to quickly scale to around 10,000 units a month, according to the company’s cofounder Neeraj. At scale, Ultraviolette expects scooters and motorcycles to contribute 50 percent each to its volumes.

 

Production of the Tesseract will initially begin at Ultraviolette's existing manufacturing facility in Karnataka, which has the capability to support the launch. Once its Hosur facility is commissioned, scooter production will be shifted there.

 

The Hosur plant is expected to be commissioned in the next six to eight months. Ultraviolette plans to invest ₹779 crore over five years in the facility, which will have an initial annual capacity of 250,000 units, scalable to 500,000 units.

 

"Once the Tesseract comes in the first quarter of calendar 2027, we will quickly be able to ramp up to about 10,000 vehicles a month. That is going to be the first objective," he said.

 

Ultraviolette currently operates predominantly in the premium electric motorcycle market. Its strategy has been to develop technology at the performance end of the motorcycle market first and subsequently take that technology architecture into higher-volume categories.

 

"The F77, our first motorcycle, is at the top end of the performance band. But once we cracked the technology for that, it became rather simpler for us then to expand into the X47. And today, subsequently, we're getting into the mass-oriented segments with the Tesseract and the Shockwave," the cofounder said.

 

The Tesseract marks Ultraviolette's entry into scooters, while the upcoming Shockwave will expand its motorcycle portfolio. Both products are being developed in parallel and are expected around the same period.

 

Motorcycles to follow scooter rampup

 

While Tesseract is expected to reach scale relatively quickly, Ultraviolette expects the electric motorcycle market to take longer to develop.

 

"Cumulatively, our projections are, at scale, 50 per cent volumes coming from scooters and 50 per cent from motorcycles," Neeraj said.

 

The company expects motorcycles to move towards comparable monthly volumes closer to the second half or end of 2027.

 

Ultraviolette believes electric motorcycles are today at a stage similar to where electric scooters were about two years ago. It expects the entry of established two-wheeler manufacturers into the segment to accelerate awareness and adoption.

 

"Today, motorcycles are where scooters were two years back. Now, the incumbents are getting into it," the cofounder said.

 

The company expects scooter volumes to scale faster. "What happened with scooters two years back, we will see the same happening with motorcycles across the next 18 months or so. Scooters, of course, when we say 10,000 a month, we will reach there faster. Motorcycles getting in will probably be towards the end of 2027," he said.

 

Hosur capacity to be ramped up in phases

 

Ultraviolette will not bring the entire 250,000-unit Hosur capacity on stream at once. The facility will have multiple battery and vehicle lines catering to different categories, with capacity added progressively as volumes increase.

 

"The preparations are on to scale to 2.5 lakh. Of course, the timeline will be phased," Neeraj said, adding that capacity expansion would largely involve adding or duplicating lines at the appropriate time.

 

Ultraviolette expects to cross an annual volume run rate of around 200,000 units sometime in 2028. Phase-I of Hosur is designed for annual capacity of 250,000 units, while the company could initiate Phase-II, taking capacity to 500,000 units, sometime in 2029.

 

The Hosur facility is planned to manufacture both Ultraviolette's existing and upcoming products.

 

Exports to become a bigger part of volumes

 

Exports will form another leg of Ultraviolette's expansion. The company said it is already exporting to 20 countries in Europe, currently its principal overseas market. Exports account for around 8-9 per cent of volumes at present. Ultraviolette's monthly sales were around 700 units last month, and the company is ramping up towards 1,000 units a month.

 

In the near term, it expects exports to account for 10-15 per cent of overall volumes, with the share targeted to rise to around 25 per cent by 2029-30, led by Europe.

 

"Our plan is to unlock the US and LATAM as well in the next 18 months or so," the cofounder said. "Near term would be about 10-15 per cent of our volumes. And closer to 2029-30, we are hoping to scale our European market to about 25 per cent of our total volumes," he added.

 

The company currently exports the F77 to Europe.

 

Neeraj said southern European markets such as France and Spain were seeing faster adoption than some northern European markets. He said distributors, dealers and consumers were increasingly looking beyond the initial purchase to factors such as spares availability, service and technical support.

 

Capital in place for Hosur

 

Ultraviolette said it is adequately capitalised to commission the Hosur plant and fund its currently planned product platforms.

 

"We are capitalised today for going live with the Hosur plant," Neeraj said. The funding has come predominantly through equity rather than significant debt, along with partnerships, he added.

 

While the company continues to hold discussions with potential investors, Neeraj said further fundraising would be aimed at expansion beyond the capacity and product portfolio already planned.

 

"Right now, we're actually quite well-capitalised. It would be only in the future, when we're talking about scaling further, let's say we're talking about 500,000 units and higher, and beyond the product portfolio that you already saw," he said.

 

The ₹779 crore Hosur expansion will complement Ultraviolette's existing R&D and manufacturing operations in Karnataka, as the company moves from its current premium motorcycle base into higher-volume two-wheeler segments.