Going electric is the mantra of the automobile segment in India and just about every manufacturer is jumping on the bandwagon. First movers in the four wheeler space include the Hyundai Kona, MG e-ZS, Mahindra e-KUV100 and the only premium offering is the Mercedes-Benz EQC. Having said that, the two wheeler segment has been rather active on this front as we have seen products like the new Bajaj Chetak make a comeback as an EV as well as companies like Hero Electric, Ather Energy, Ampere and of course Eeve India mark their presence.
In order to get a better understanding of how the two-wheeler EV industry is shaping up, we at MotorScribes had a nice chat with Harsh Vardhan Didwania, the co-founder and Director of Eeve India, where he elaborated on what his company is doing, how the market is shaping up and what the future holds. After all, Harsh does have big plans for Eeve India and he is looking at bringing his family’s experience in the automotive manufacturing sector to help drive his success story and script a new innings.
Q: How did the idea of starting EeVe kick-off? Who are the investors and partners?
Harsh: I belong to a family that has been in the automobile business for a long time, namely the Bharat Group. Building on this legacy is what I wanted to do and it was on an overseas trip that I saw EVs being used widely. The silent nature of these efficient two-wheelers caught my fancy and I wanted to have a home-grown EV brand that catered to the sentiment of Indian consumers. This is how Eeve India was born.
Q: Where is the EeVe facility located, production capacity, ramp-up scale?
Harsh: Eeve India currently has a factory located in Jashpur and has over 200 employees in total. Our corporate office is based in Bhubaneshwar. We are currently ramping up scale as well at our facility and are also looking at having our own battery manufacturing unit. The factory has an installed capacity of 12,000 units per month and we have plans of scaling this number up to 60,000 units in the next few years.
Q: How much localization is there in the EeVe products? What parts are imported
Harsh: Our USP is that we make our own scooters. These are made in India products that are made for India. Our current line-up includes the Xeniaa, 4U, Wind, and Your that cater to the requirements of two-wheeler users and sustains rough roads. These products are moulded to be highly useful, comfortable, ultra-chic and affordable for the riders. Currently we import batteries for our scooters, but we are setting up our own unit which will change the level of localisation. Our motors are from Bosch and we use Indian tyre suppliers for our products as well.
Q: What is the USP of EeVe products? What is the sales strategy and how many showrooms do you have?
Harsh: Our USP is drawn from my family’s experience in sales and service. Our 3S model is the pillar of our success as it adds credibility to the entire chain. We are not fly-by-nigh operators bringing EVs in with no background or customer service program. As far as our reach is concerned, we go by the dealership – sub-dealership model and currently reach out to over 52 cities but have plans to expand to over 200+ cities in the coming year.
Q: Do any of the scooters come with a swappable battery?
Harsh: EeVe India observes one mantra ardently to keep itself ahead of the pack and that is to serve their customers with the best quality, innovative and cost-effective products that come with a five years warranty on all. In the pipeline are trendsetting products such as swappable Lithium Ion batteries. These batteries would ensure that one never runs out of charge. These next-generation scooters take anywhere between 3-4 hours to charge and go on to deliver an amazing range of 75+ kilometres on a single charge.
Q: Will we see a new motorcycle from EeVe soon? Any other details or studies you’ve done on the same will be welcome.
Harsh: We showcased a new scooter and a motorcycle at this year’s Auto Expo and the plans to introduce them in the market are on track. The Forsetti scooter will be a high-end offering with a higher top speed and a longer range up to 100 km on a single charge. The Tesoro motorcycle will have a 120 km range and a top speed of around 100 km/h.
Editor’s Note: India is a challenging market and the EV business is just in its nascent stage. Having said that, it is great to see such dedication from home-grown manufacturers who are looking at making a change and a difference with their products. Yes, the two-wheeler EV industry has been marred by the cheap Chinese offerings that importers keep bringing in, however as the market matures, only the serious players will be left in charge and Eeve India does have the infrastructure and base to make it big on this front. As a company, they have shown that they are future-ready, heavily invested in this segment and have plans to keep things interesting with innovative new products!