Reliance-backed electric three-wheeler maker Altigreen will launch its first passenger electric three-wheeler (E3W) within the next two months, Amitabh Saran, Founder & CEO, Altigreen Propulsion Labs, told Mobility Outlook during a conversation on the sidelines of the opening of the OEM's first dealership in Gurugram, Haryana.
“Our E3W has been made to take on the rural and urban roads alike. It is inspired by the notion of shared mobility where multiple people rent the same three-wheeler,” he said.
The company has been working on the same for some time now, and the time is ripe for the launch as it sees rapid growth in the shared mobility and E3W segment. It is also working on its first cargo electric four-wheel commercial vehicle, which will be showcased in 2025.
As per a report by Allied Market Research, the three-wheeler market was valued at $8.42 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $15.54 billion by 2028, registering a CAGR of 10.3% from 2021 to 2028. The report also points towards the size of the E3W market going to be as big as the diesel-powered three-wheelers market by 2028.
Focus On B2C
While the company, like all other three-wheeler players, started as a B2B (institutional sales) heavy OEM, Saran is now more focused on the B2C (individual owners) market. 'Over 85% of three-wheeler sales take place in the B2C market. This data is ample to understand why we want to focus more on the B2C market,' he said.
Altigreen says its B2C saleswill surpass its B2B E3W retail sales in March 2023. The feat for the company is special as this is the first time its B2C sales will surpass its B2B sales.
“Maybe this is happening because B2B sales do not generally take place in March,” he said.
Saran is positive that the trend will continue and only increase once it launches its first passenger E3W. The company has localised everything barring battery cells and microprocessors.
“We do not have fabrication of cells or chips in the country but I am hopeful that we will be able to localise these in the coming times. Other than that, we are adding over 93% local value in all our products,” he added.
Backing From Reliance
The company also sees Reliance playing a bigger role in the Altigreen in the future. Apart from the Indian conglomerate being one of the leads in the start-up's recent funding round of INR 300 crore, the vehicle maker is of the view that the mobility technologies Reliance is working on will aid the start-up in future on multiple notes.
“If you look at Reliance's funding portfolio, you will find the conglomerate working on mobility technologies like lithium cells, charging, and more. We would help them test these technologies as a vehicle OEM, and will be the first ones to get hands on such technologies,” he said.
The recently opened dealership in Gurugram is the start-up's 28th in India, and it is targeting to open two more before the end of this fiscal. For the next fiscal, it aims to open 40 more dealerships and launch a passenger E3W.
It also launched the all-new NeEV Tez E3W, which it says is the world’s fastest charging 3-wheeler featuring Exponent’s 3-in-one connector that lets the user choose between slow, fast, and superfast charging options. The NeEV Tez requires 15 minutes of charging for a full charge at the E pump, 3.5 hours of slow charging with 16 A Socket- 200V, and up to one hour at the Bharat DCOO1 charging station.
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