Electric motorcycles and scooters are plug-in electric vehicles with two or three wheels. The electricity is stored on board in a rechargeable battery, which drives one or more electric motors. The year 2019 saw the beginning of India’s electric revolution. Aside from a slew of rebadged Chinese products, five electric names stood out to us. They are as follows:
REVOLT MOTORS
Rahul Sharma of Micromax Informatics founded Revolt Motors, India’s first electric motorcycle manufacturer, after dabbling in smartphones. This year, the RV300 and RV400 electric motorcycles were released in India by the homegrown company. Both are based on Revolt’s platform partner, Super Soco, a well-known Chinese electric two-wheel manufacturer in Europe.
22Kymco
KYMCO, a renowned professional Powersports brand announced the official debut of the new 22KYMCO brand through a strengthened alliance with Indian smart electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer 22Motors, building on strategic cooperation begun last year. The two partners’ new brand launch provides Indian consumers with dependable EVs and marks a watershed moment for KYMCO as it accelerates its globalization process and develops its industrial layout in India.
Ultraviolette Automotive
Founded by Narayan Subramaniam and Niraj Rajmohan, Ultraviolette Automotive aims to take on not only e-bikes by the likes on Harley-Davidson, but also premium petrol bikes. This Bangalore-based start-up that has only one intention, to prove that electrics can be fast and fun. The proof lies in the pudding as the F77 can be termed as India’s first performance electric motorcycle. While the bikes showcased to us were still in the prototype stage, the actual bikes will hit the market in October 2020.
Bajaj Auto
Bajaj Auto Limited is a multinational car manufacturing firm headquartered in Pune, India. Its products include motorcycles, scooters, and auto rickshaws. The Bajaj Group includes Bajaj Auto. Jamnalal Bajaj founded it in Rajasthan in the 1940s. Plants are located in Chakan, Waluj, and Pantnagar. It became the first Indian mainstream two-wheeler to get serious about electrics. Its Urbanite technological division has been working on urban mobility solutions for years and the first product from brand marks Bajaj’s return to making scooters. And there is just one name that the Pune-based manufacturer could have chosen for it – the Chetak.
Benling
Benling’s mission is to carry on its tradition of inventive thinking in the Electric Vehicle category by developing products that will help the Indian market adapt to the needs of a consumer in EVs by offering a safe and clean drive. It aspires to revolutionize transportation and build a sustainable ecosystem by ushering in a revolution and innovation in electric mobility. Given this, we have developed a comprehensive roadmap to establish a robust EV ecosystem by investing in next-generation technology solutions and globally competitive products, raising citizen awareness for the adoption of sustainable mobility, and providing Zero CO2 emission vehicles on Indian roads. China’s Benling is one of the few brands that arrived relatively early in 2019, but it has yet to release any products. The business is comparing its future scooter to the Ather 450, but no actual information has been released.
