Electric Bikes in India - article by EVHUB.BIZ


 

Article written by Murali  on 25 th  August 2009

 

These days we are observing Noise less, pollution less bikes on Indian roads in almost all metros. This shows that the time has come for bikes run by electric motor and powered by battery pack. Current maturity level of the Electric bikes may not be so high to replace the fuel based vehicles but the pace at which this bikes are penetrating into Indian market really shows its potential. Currently there are more than 30 suppliers of E-bikes in India.

Why India is seen as hub for Electric bikes manufacturing?

Growing cost of convectional fuels.
Increase in pollution levels of many Indian cities.
Demand projections for two wheelers in India.
Cost competitive manufacturing capability as of China with better quality.
For low speed bikes, there is no need of licence and registration which reduces the effective cost of the E-bike.
The following are the some key E-bike suppliers in India

Ampere Vehicles- This is a coimbatore based electric bike company launched a wide variety of e-bikes and moving towards development of drive train for electric bikes. 
Hero Ultra - Hero cycles with technical colloboration with UK's Ultra Motors ltd. Already released many models out of which Hero Maxi is doing good in market. Recently released Velociti for High speed range bike. Still to see its feedback.
Yo bikes - Electrotherm ltd which has pioneered the E-bike supplying on Indian roads already released many models but not many successful but has gained a brand name YO BIKE as a identification of any E-bike. Cost range of the bikes are between Rs.17,500 till Rs.29,000
Avon Cycles - This ludhiana based cycle manufacturers already into market with many E-cycle models like E-bike , E-bike VX , E-plus , E-lite , E-magic etc.
Yash E-bikes - Hyderabad based Cynosure Enterprises ltd launched Yash bikes and having well spread dealership in South India.
ACE Motors- This Pune based company launched E-trendy, E-sportz bikes.
Eko Vehicles- Bangalore based company deals with battery operated bikes.
TI cycles- Chennai based Murugappa group company launched E-bikes.
Delhi based SAR-Group launching E-bike soon on to Indian roads with Lectrix Motors as Brand name.

Other than the above , there are many small players also in to market now. All people claim that the bike runs 60-70 km per a single charge. Battery takes 8 hrs to fully charge.

Battery is the main constraint due to bumpy roads. Battery deteriorates due to current fluctuations on these roads. Due to this battery needed to be replaced after an year. This is the biggest concern for a E-bike owner as he needed to pay Rs.5000 (approx.) at a time. But fact is that , even including battery replacement cost, E-bike running cost would be far below the fuel cost. This needed to be educated to people while selling E-bikes.

We can observe, almost all companies started in 2005-07 era except a few. This clearly shows the market potential of Electrically propelled bikes in India. Though the speed doesnt attract youth , E-bikes are well suiting for Children , Ladies & elderly people. As the technology matures, this will get extended to higher speeds and slowly to three wheelers and four wheelers

Author is owner of www.evhub.biz and www.eeeguyz.com portal.

Contact Author: murali@evhub.biz 













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