Date:
05 Sep 2016
| Author: P.Tharyan
How has the company’s business progressed in the last
one year?
Although we have 70% of the market share of
the industry, the volume of sales are so low that it does not paint an
encouraging picture. We expect to be out of the woods in a year and have
focused on adopting a bottom-line approach of minimizing costs. We are still waiting for the economic
ecosystem to turn better for the EV industry as a whole. In terms of the
domestic market, our tie-ups with e-commerce platforms such as Snapdeal have
had a positive impact on our sales; 25% of the total sales are today being
generated from online platforms. We have also partnered with other players such
as ShopClues, Homeshop18 and Rediff.com in a hope to leverage their huge
customer base.
The situation is different in our A2B
segment. We have our vehicles designed in Germany and manufactured in China.
Business in foreign markets is not dependent on subsidies. In fact, our
vehicles are much higher priced in these places and fall under the category of
lifestyle products. Our products abroad enjoy a healthy consumer base amongst individuals
aged 50 years and above, as these users are environmentally-conscious and
strive to maintain a balanced and healthy perspective in all aspects of their
life. In an encouraging shift, even youngsters are getting attracted to EVs
which has resulted in increasing sales as well as greater product evolution to
cater to their tastes and preferences.
A two-wheeler without speed is not thrilling, at least
for the younger generation. Are you looking at developing e-scooters and
e-motorcycles that speed significantly and have longer lasting batteries?
It is true that EVs are often viewed with a
skewed vision of being ‘boring’ cars with limited range, performance and higher
cost of acquisition. Presently, however, efforts are being made to bring in a
paradigm shift in the performance of EVs. For instance, lithium-ion batteries
are replacing the conventional devices, thereby bringing EVs at par with
top-performing IC vehicles. The presence of strong charging infrastructure
becomes all the more essential if such vehicles are to be popularized and
utilized to their optimum.
The incentive for manufacturers to invest in
developing such vehicles, however, will exist only if mass awareness is created
to generate a point of inflection for the EV market. Infrastructural changes
are long-term strategies that will take years to materialize. Till then,
however, the government can intervene with policy frameworks and innovative
solutions to ensure the survival of EV manufacturers. For instance, the giant
e-commerce delivery network is an untapped resource that can be utilized to
provide a market for Electronic Vehicles. Entering into collaborations with
online platforms to utilize electronic two-wheelers for their deliveries might
prove to be a social experiment that can be accepted easily, as these platforms
mostly cater to the environmentally-conscious urban youth. With a little bit of
nudge and lots of motivated efforts from the government as well as other
stakeholders, there is still hope to inspire Indian consumers to turn the EV
way.