Odysse Electric Vehicles, a start-up working in the electric two-wheeler space recently launched the Vader e-motorcycle at Rs 1.10 lakh (ex-showroom Ahmedabad), which comes with a 120km range and first-in-segment 7-inch Android display with Bluetooth connectivity dashboard.
This was the 7th product in the company’s portfolio which includes a mix of low-speed and high-speed scooters. At present, it has a sales ratio of 50-50, where it sees consolidation happening with the high-speed category as the primary driver.
“There has been a huge transition from the low-speed category to the high-speed category, from the next year we foresee high-speed to be at least 60-70% of the market, the rest being low-speed,” says Nemin Vora, CEO, Odysse EV.
At present, the company has a production capacity of 2,500 units per month at its facility in Ahmedabad, where it aims to expand to 10,000 units a month. Vora says the company is in discussion with the government for the land.
It has a network of over 70 dealerships across the country, which it says will reach 200-plus in FY2024.
“We are seeing traction in the tier-2 and tier-3 market right now. The reason that we are able to convince dealer partners is that we act as a stop solution provider, in terms of providing products across low-speed, high-speed, scooter, and now motorcycle segment,” he adds.
Till date, Odysse Electric Vehicles has invested close to Rs 23 crore and has clocked a revenue of Rs 73 crore. While profitability is still some time away, he says the idea is to not just “target profits but have set internal targets in terms of sales, dealerships, and once we achieve them we will be happy with that.”
It is interesting to note that the Vader e-motorcycle is the first product for the company that has been certified and is eligible for FAME 2 subsidy. Vora says, “To date, we never had a FAME 2 product, then also we have been able to do business. We have designed our team and business that can grow even without FAME 2, the subsidies act as an accelerator. It helps fast-forward our plans.”
“Having subsidies is an additional advantage for us. When we started our business plans, our roadmap was never designed with subsidies in mind,” he quips.
Competition and global plans
The EV segment has become an attractive business for many new players.Looking at the company’s plans, it seems it aims to enter a mid-price category. As its targeting the tier-2 and tier-3 markets, the balance between price and features offered plays a key role.
Speaking about expansion plans, Vora explains, “We already have a dealership in Nepal, and plan to go global next year. We are under discussion for certain MENA and European regions for dealerships and distributorship. We envision ourselves to be profitable by FY2025.”
