An experiment by a ridesharing company to retrofit old scooters with electric motors promises to be a game-changer in adopting electric vehicles (EVs).
Though traditional bikes are miles ahead in terms of sales despite incentives to EV scooters, Bounce has found turning traditional bikes into EVs is a win-win in terms of budget and environment.
Latest data from the Union government has shown that 18,433 two-wheelers have been bought in the country under phase-2 of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles or FAME II. Comparatively, Karnataka recorded 94,500 purchases in January.
About four months ago, Bounce converted 100 old scooters by spending Rs 25,000 per vehicle on electric motors and another Rs 45,000 on each battery.
"The effort has paid off as the cost of operation has come down by Rs 2/km per bike. We are looking forward to converting the remaining 5.000 vehicles in the coming days,” said Vivekananda H R, co-founder, Bounce.
The absence of charging infrastructure, poor awareness of the total cost of ownership on a vehicle’s lifetime and huge upfront costs have been discouraging EV adoption.
“More importantly, people don’t want to give up their bikes even after 10 or 15 years despite high petrol prices. This is where retrofitting will play a major role,” Vivekananda said.
Besides converting their own vehicles, Bounce will soon turn around other commuter bikes for a similar cost. “We realise that people may embrace the idea of spending on conversion but refuse the deal due to the Rs 50,000 battery. Besides conversion, we will start renting batteries to customers who can swap them at our stations spread across the city,” he said.
A study by Bounce found each electric bike helped cut the emission of 42.06 grams of carbon dioxide per km. Vehicle emission contributes to about 45% of the air pollution in Bengaluru.
Subsidy on battery
Several players in the market have approached the government seeking an extension of the FAME II subsidy for batteries. Last month, the Commerce and Industries Department held a meeting with several companies that play a role in EV adoption.
The Fame II subsidy was enhanced recently from Rs 10,000/kwh to Rs 15,000/kwh, covering up to 40% of the vehicle cost, something the companies want for batteries. Ride-sharing market leaders believe it will spur growth.
To a question, Gunjan Krishna, Commissioner, Industrial Development and Director of Department of Industries and Commerce, said the department was looking into the demand. “We will recommend it to the higher-ups if there’s merit. A decision will be taken at the government level,” she said.