The ride sharing market has seen an exponential growth in the last few years. As per estimates, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.87% between 2018 and 2025 and reach a market size of $ 218 billion in 2025, up from $ 61.3 billion in 2018.
Singapore based start-up, Sooorya EV aims to enter this market and have a piece of the pie with its unique product – an eight-seater electric taxi targeted toward the shared cab hailing services.
In a recent interaction with Mobility Outlook, Christie Fernandez, Founder, Sooorya EV claimed the company has received number of enquiries about the product from India as well as other countries.
The company aims to make the ride sharing market more comfortable for the customers and more efficient for the drivers. Fernandez said, “The rideshare costs are still very high, which can be much lower if there are more number of seats. We are looking at this segment for the ride hailing operators.” There is focus on increasing the comfort of individual seats for each passenger.
The planned product, which will be a low-voltage, low-speed EV taxi, will also have solar panels fitted on to its roof. This will generate enough power to give the taxi an additional range of about 20-30 km over the expected 150 km range. In addition to a fixed battery option, the Sooorya EV product will also have provisions to use swappable batteries. Claiming this is uncommon in a four-wheeler EV, Fernandez said swappable batteries will enable to minimise the charging time and range anxiety problem.
Currently in its designing stage, the product prototype is expected to be ready over the next 24 months, and an additional six months would be needed to get into the production process, said Fernandez. The vehicle is being developed in a modular structure, which would allow it to be assembled in micro-factories. All critical components, including the electric motors, drivetrain and batteries, will be outsourced, he said.
Growth plans
Sharing his thoughts on micro-factories, Fernandez said he intends to set up multiple such micro-factories in India, starting from South India and later moving to other parts of the country. This would make the production process as well as the delivery process much more economical, he said. Beyond India, Sooorya EV is eyeing the African and South American markets, in addition to exploring all the emerging markets to grow. The product will suit these markets given its cost effectiveness, he said.
There is a viable proposition in renting out the vehicle as well. One of his plans is to offer the vehicle on rent at a cost of INR 1,000 per day. “The driver would be able to rent out a vehicle at a similar cost at which he is renting out a taxi today in the market; except that his earnings would be a lot more because of low fuel and maintenance costs,” Fernandez said.
To fund the development process, the company is looking to raise about $15 million in total, part of which – about $5 million – he wants to raise for the prototype stage. Once ready, Fernandez expects to price the vehicle at under INR 10 lakh, and sell about a lakh unit per year globally, when it expands its business to all the emerging markets.