“We develop a PCM (phase-change material) that keeps batteries at optimum level, and even after five years of usage there is no probability of battery going into thermal runaway (a chain reaction leading to fires),” Rajkumar said.Beyond Compare 3.0.10 Misc. ![]() The Simple One is equipped with a fireproof technology that has been indigenously developed with IIT Indore. But for stabilised start-ups such a Simple Energy and others, legacy players are not much of a threat in fact, legacy players are more worried about start-ups,” he said. “Legacy players come with all three muscles (R&D, manufacturing and sales). Make rules more stringent, but FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles) is needed so that the industry doesn’t lose the pace it has picked up,” he said.Ī couple of years ago competition for Simple Energy was just start-ups, but now legacy players such as Hero MotoCorp, TVS and Bajaj are entering the electric field. “The government should go hard on those who don’t comply with the norms, but the scheme should be continued for some time. In February, the government launched a probe against some two-wheeler EV players about the alleged misappropriation of the FAME II subsidy scheme, and there are reported talks about the scheme not being extended beyond its March 31, 2024, deadline (even though a parliamentary panel has suggested extending it by two years). Some low quality players have exited or have been forced to exit either by the market or by regulations.” “We have a production capacity of 25,000 units per month, and we are looking at meeting that first, and then scaling it up,” he said. Rajkumar didn’t share his sales target, but said for the right product there is enough demand. “We’re heavily reliant on South Korea - the microcontroller comes from there,” he said. While most parts, including the battery pack, have been localised, Rajkumar said some electronics come from South Korea, Japan, China and Europe. Any form factor of two-wheelers is of interest to us.” “But we are definitely working on multiple products, including motorcycles. “That could be one of the ways out, we have not yet decided on this,” he said. Will future products be called Simple Two, Simple Three, Simple Four, and so on? “But all online benefits would be there - such as delivery of the vehicle at home and servicing at home.”Īlso read: Piaggio appoints Ajay Raghuvanshi as Executive VP of two-wheeler businessĭuring the development stage the One was called the Mark 2, but a ‘simple’ name (One) was finally chosen. While in EVs the cost of maintenance is almost one-tenth of a traditional two-wheeler, periodic checks and trained staff is needed,” Rajkumar said. ![]() ![]() “Customers will need a service station and a touch point. Unlike players such as Ola Electric, which don’t have dealerships at all, Simple Energy will take an online plus offline approach to sell the One. During the unveil in 2021 it was priced Rs 1.1 lakh, but an auto analyst told FE that the price is likely to be revised when customer deliveries start. The One has a range of 236 km, goes from 0-40 km/h in 2.77 seconds, battery of 4.8 kWh, and top speed of 105 km/h. Simple Energy has hired people not only from the auto industry, but also from software, electronics, space start-ups and even a few people from Tesla. “Rich talent came to our organisation for the past one and a half years and their skill set has added to product quality.” “The One is now faster, it has improved on aesthetics, on battery systems and powertrain, it is much more stable in terms of safety parameters - we had set out to meeting seven safety parameters during the unveil, but now we are meeting 18 safety parameters,” Rajkumar said. Rajkumar assured that customer deliveries will finally start by the end of April this year. “Customer interest, however, hasn’t waned, as our bookings have crossed 100,000 units.” “These delays gave us the time not only to meet new safety standards, but also to make our scooter the best in business,” Suhas Rajkumar, founder & CEO, Simple Energy, told FE. The third delay was to meet the new battery safety guidelines issued by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. The second delay was apparently a conscious call taken by the start-up after a spate of EV fires in April 2021, when it said: “Keeping in mind the safety standards and the recent incidents in the EV industry, Simple had taken a conscious call of deferring the deliveries of the One.” ![]() The first delay was attributed to supply chain issues, as that was a year impacted by Covid-19.Īlso read: BLive partners Chartered Bike to deploy 10,000 e-two-wheelers and 1,000 e-three-wheelers over next 3 years The future of EV charging stations in India
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