Simple Energy has stopped test ride registrations for its upcoming electric scooter in India. The start-up's last leg of Simple One test rides will be held in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, from 14 to 15 September 2022.
Notably, the start-up had targeted conducting test rides of its electric scooters in 13 cities. It has already conducted test rides in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Panaji, Ahmedabad and Indore.
Deliveries of the Simple One electric scooter will start as the last leg of test rides, scheduled for the second week of September, nearing completion. The next set of test rides will take place in Jaipur, New Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, and Bhubaneshwar.
The start-up had earlier postponed the delivery dates of the Simple One electric scooter to September 2022. Suhas Rajkumar, Founder & CEO, Simple Energy, had earlier noted that the decision to postpone the deliveries of the Simple One Electric scooter was taken as a result of the fire incidents that had occurred in the electric vehicle industry.
'Keeping in mind the safety standards and the recent incidents in the EV industry, Simple has taken a conscious call of scheduling deliveries of the ONE to September,' he had posted on Twitter.
The start-up is also accepting pre-bookings for the scooter at INR 1,947. Simple Energy is claiming a range of 236 km with its upcoming electric scooter. Kumar had earlier noted that the scooter can achieve a speed of 0 to 40 km/hr in 2.77 seconds and a top speed of 105 kmph. The scooter will be retailed in Brazen Black, Namma Red, Azure Blue, and Grace White.
Simple Energy, in December last year, had also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government for an investment of up to INR 2,500 crore over the next five years to set-up the largest electric two-wheeler state-of-the-art plant in Dharmapuri.
A total of 240,662 electric scooters have been sold in India from January 2022 to June 2022. While Okinawa is currently leading the list as it has sold 47,121 electric scooters, start-ups including Ola Electric and Ather Energy have been selling them in significant numbers.
On commencing deliveries of the Simple One electric scooters, the company will become the latest Indian start-up to compete in the evolving electric scooter market. The start-up had raised $21 million in October 2021 pre-series funding round.