The EV conversion kit provider, Startya Mobility, aims to retrofit the first batch of scooters from April 2022 onwards.
Available for gearless scooters, the kit is currently under ARAI testing and will include a 5.5kW permanent magnet synchronous motor, 48V 50Ah lithium-ion battery and a 250 amp controller.
Further to maintain the vehicle's dynamics, Ravikumar Jagannath, CEO, Starya Mobility, confirmed to Mobility Outlook in an interview that with the system installed, the scooter weighs in at 108 kgs.
It is designed to achieve the exact centre of gravity position in the same way the original scooter is made. The motor replaces the engine in the same place; the CVT is replaced with the pulleys, he said.
With the system installed, the scooter can reach a top speed of 75 kmph with a 0-40 kmph time of four seconds and a range of 75kms, claimed Jagannath. Furthermore, the running cost is also claimed to be one-third of an ICE scooter.
Available at INR 35,000 with the battery provided on a subscription basis, the company has got an order book of 500 customers for the conversion kit, it claimed. The trials for the scooters started from November 2021, while the bookings opened later that month at INR 100, the CEO stated.
Starya Conversion Points
With the launch of the conversion kit, the company also plans to start with Starya Conversion Points. These hubs will be utilised for the conversion of the scooters.
Initially, the company aims to start its operations from Bangalore with six conversion points. By June, it intends to further expand its presence to Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Surat, Hubli, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Cochin, the CEO confirmed.
Apart from these hubs, the company also plans to tie up with Turbo Energy, a subsidiary of TVS, to leverage their 250 service stations PAN India to be used as conversion points.
“We are in talks with Turbo Energy, who is also interested. In fact, three, four rounds of discussions have already been closed,” Jagannath added.
In addition to being used as conversion points, these hubs will be used as battery swapping stations by the end of this calendar year. Initially, it intends to use its Micronics battery packs sourced from local vendors.
Investments
The CEO confirmed that a total of INR5 crore has been invested into the company ever since it was incorporated in 2018. Recently it raised INR2 crore in its bridge round.
The majority of these funds will be utilised as the working capital to make the conversion kits for the first batch of customers, while INR 40 lakh will be invested into automating some of the production processes, the CEO confirmed.
By April 2022, the company intends to start its next fundraising round of $5 million. These funds will be used for expansion while also fueling the growth on the production front and beginning with the battery swapping stations, he added.
In terms of service expansion, besides providing conversion kits for ICE scooters, the company also plans to provide the kits to new age e3W OEMs along with retrofitting ICE three-wheelers.
“The motor and controller that we have designed with minor tweaks and modifications can be retrofitted into a three wheeler,” Jagannath said.
Moreover, it also plans to launch its own e2W within the next two years by the time it hits the 25,000 sales mark for the conversion kit.