The EV as-a-service platform, FYN, earlier known as PiBeam (a startup of IIT Madras with its corporate headquarters in Bengaluru), plans to make electric two and three-wheelers for the B2B segment.
Earlier the company started its vehicle manufacturing journey with the launch of PiMO, a low speed e2W and then moved on to a pedal assisted e3W.
Visakh Sasikumar, Founder and CEO, told Mobility Outlook that an L-3 e3W, which will be the first to debut and has cleared ARAI certification stage. Less than a metre wide, it has a 2000 watt motor and offers a top speed of 25 kmph.
This will be followed by an e2W over the next six months. At present, it is in the prototype stage based on a 48V platform. Akin to a moped, it has a top speed of 60 kmph with a range of 120 km on a single charge.
Sasikumar said plans are also underway to launch an electric light commercial vehicle using swappable battery technology. It will cover 80-200 km on a single charge.
FYN’s Hosur plant has a production capacity of 300 e3Ws per month and 40 e2Ws a day. However, With the new set of products, it is looking at the option of contract manufacturing, he added. FYN also plans to build a network of fast charging stations and a swappable battery network keeping in mind the needs of its product range.
Partnerships In Place
The company has partnered with some charging infra providers such as Log9Materials and Exicom. It intends to start off with fast charging stations and then move onto the swappable network.
“We will kick off with a swappable network for two-wheelers and then move onto other vehicle types. Based on the density of vehicles per sq km, we will decide on setting up our own network or use our partner’s stations,” said Sasikumar.
As the charging stations will be used solely by FYN, the idea is to have a standardisation of batteries before moving on to a swappable network. The company aims to begin with Bengaluru followed by Chennai for the swappable network pilot project where 10 chargers will be installed in each of the cities this fiscal.
It plans to expand operations to Gurugram and Hyderabad among a handful of other cities by the end of FY23. The goal is to have nearly 2,000 EVs on its platform by this time while growing fivefold to 10,000 units next fiscal. At present, it has 400 with 60% of the fleet taken up by FYN-produced vehicles.
FYN plans to add a finance engine for its EV partners for deploying EVs. “As the vehicles and drivers are both on-boarded through our platform, it is important to make vehicle sourcing easier for our driver partners,” explained the CEO.
FYN is working on raising Series A funding in FY23 with Series B planned for the following year. “With Series A, we are looking at expanding our presence across cities and adding driver partners and vehicles. With Series B, we want to scale up our operations,” said Sasikumar.
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