Power Global on Thursday announced a strategic partnership to supply its eZee swappable lithium-ion battery technology to auto-rickshaw manufacturer Rap Eco Motors.
It will be deployed in its mass-market electric three-wheeler product line RANIE, including a passenger auto-rickshaw, delivery van, and cargo vehicle.
Following an initial product launch in April 2022, the companies will partner to manufacture 50,000 electric auto-rickshaws over the next five years, advancing both companies’ roadmaps for made in India manufacturing.
Rap Eco Motors delivers premier e-rickshaws nationwide and to countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and South America.
The partnership with Power Global marks the Hyderabad-based company’s first step towards developing a comprehensive solution for the OEM’s electric auto-rickshaws, built with a 48-volt swappable eZee battery module.
In an ever-evolving auto-rickshaw market like India, the company’s engineered solution allows the vehicle maker to leapfrog the costly and time-consuming process of developing an in-house electrification solution.
Compared to existing fossil fuel-powered auto-rickshaws on the road today, each RANIE vehicle is expected to cut CO2 emissions by 3.7 metric tonne annually and eliminate dangerous NOx and PM tailpipe emissions that contribute to air pollution.
Parmod Chabria, Co-founder, Rap Eco Motors, said, “In the world’s largest three-wheeler market, we feel a collective responsibility to commercialise a sustainable and clean solution.”
Power Global’s domestic battery production plant in Greater Noida is capable of producing 400,000 modules annually. Supporting India’s FAME II mandates, which drive OEMs to develop electrification solutions, the company aims to deploy 10,000 batteries and light mobility electric retrofit kits backed by their battery swapping network by the end of 2022.
Integral to this partnership, a new Director of Business Development, Rakesh Kerwell, will be joining the Power Global team, the company said. A former Director at DLF Limited and former Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Reliance Industries Limited, Rakesh is joined by two additional new candidates whose deep automotive backgrounds at Honda and Hero MotoCorp, respectively, will be crucial to Power Global India’s next level of growth: Ajay Dhiman, Head of Manufacturing, and Rajeev Sharma, Chief Engineer.
Pankaj Dubey, CEO, Power Global’s India, said, “For India to successfully capture a bigger market share of the light e-mobility sector, we need to onshore all components of electric auto-rickshaw manufacturing in-country. Rap Eco Motors has already dominated the regional market through its ambitious business strategy and shares our mutual vision for ‘made in India’ electrification solutions.”