A recent article in New York times highlights the shift in ride-sharing trends in India. (ref: Ride-Sharing’s Future? It May Sit on Electric Motorbikes). The article describes “Several start-ups — backed by big Silicon Valley venture firms and Uber’s Indian competitor, Ola — are betting that shared “two-wheelers” are better suited to wallets and transportation needs than the cars that are the heart of the ride-hailing industry.”
The article also describes how Indian ride-sharing companies like Vogo and Bounce are hoping to cut costs by stocking their fleets with electric motorbikes. It goes on to describe how ride-sharing companies are looking to another Bangalore start-up, Ather Energy, to supply electric bikes.
Ather has engineered a premium-priced, aspirational electric scooter that is one of the few to qualify for government clean-energy subsidies, and it is building a network of fast-charging stations.
According to analysts, the automobile industry is in the midst of a huge technological disruption. High cost of petroleum and environmentally conscious middle-class consumers are leaning towards electric bikes and vehicles because of inherent efficiency.
There are many consumer adoption challenges when it comes to electric vehicles. According to the company’s blog “We are not very far from the era of electric. Electric vehicles are slowly and steadily gaining momentum, in our part of the world. It’s understandable that every new thing takes its own sweet time to make its place. More importantly, get accepted and understood. And here’s a relatively new breed of vehicles built on an unconventional platform, powered by alternative fuel, and topped with new tech.”
The startup’s Ather 450 – all-electric scooter has received Indian government’s Fame-II approval (Faster Adoption and Manufacture of Hybrid and Electric vehicles). The approval certification translates into a subsidy that the scooter will benefit from. The Ather 450 now sees a subsidy of 27,000 Rupees.
Startups like Ather also face manufacturing and supply chain challenges. According to NYT, the startup can currently make about 500 scooters a month at its Bangalore factory. The company is lining up a manufacturing partner to vastly increase production, said Tarun Mehta, a co-founder of Ather and its chief executive.
Other articles of interest
- Ather electric scooters Pune launch in 2019 – Prices reduced by Rs 5k The company will cover six cities by the end of 2019.
- Ather Energy Gets Fame II Nod for Electric Scooter – Ather 450 Hero MotoCorp-backed Ather Energy said its electric scooter Ather 450 has received regulatory compliance to qualify for a subsidy under the FAME II scheme.
- Electric Ridesharing Benefits the Grid, and EVgo Has the Data to Prove It – Rideshare services like Uber and Lyft are offering more electric vehicles, boosting the need for fast charging. That may help the grid in high-solar states like California.
- Ratan Tata invests in ride-sharing major Ola Electric – Ola Electric is currently running several pilots involving charging solutions, battery swapping stations, and deploying vehicles across two, three and four-wheeler segments.