Drivezy to bring Yamaha EC-05 electric scooter to India - Report
Bangalore-based rental company Drivezy plans to introduce the Yamaha EC-05 electric scooter to India. The company reportedly plans to bring 5,000 units of the electric vehicle in our market by as early as November 2019, reports Forbes India.
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Ashwarya Pratap Singh, CEO, Drivezy, has told Forbes India that the company will set up a separate electrics subsidiary and raise about USD 20 million to USD 25 million for it. Singh also confirmed that the vehicle rental company is already scouting locations and seeking partnerships to set up a battery-swapping network.
Regular readers would know that Yamaha Motor, along with Gogoro, revealed the new EC-05 electric scooter for Taiwan. The pure electric scooter features apron-mounted LED headlight and front blinkers and a dual-tone paint, digital instrument console and keyless ignition among others.
The Yamaha EC-05 was designed in Japan, while its production takes place in Taiwan. The vehicle uses a dual battery pack feature for a decent range between battery recharge/swaps. Hero Electric recently introduced the dual battery feature in its Optima ER and Nyx ER (Extended Range) electric scooters. The 22KYMCO iFlow, too, uses the same feature.
Gogoro has widespread a charging and battery-swapping infrastructure in Taiwan. In India, Drivezy plans to establish partners for creating its charging network. One of these partners under consideration is Oyo, to set up charging infrastructure at select hotels. It can also use its growing franchisee network to install charging stations.
A door-step delivery service like Revolt Motors can address the range anxiety and long recharge period issues, although Drivezy has made no such announcements.
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While Drivezy has made an announcement about introducing EC-05 in India, Yamaha is yet to reveal its plans to introduce electric two-wheelers in our market. The Ministry of Road and Transport plans mass electrification of all two-wheelers with less than 150 cc of displacement by 2025. Domestic brands like Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor Company are already working on their respective electric two-wheelers, while Hero Electric is working on expanding its reach through new outlets in the country.
[Source: Forbes.com]
