Oben Electric wants to RORR past other e-motorcycles in India with its ICE-comparable model

Madhumita and Dinkar Agrawal built a technology consulting company in 2016, one business unit belonging to the electric vehicles (EV) segment. As the business grew, the husband-wife duo acquired hands-on experience in the entire value chain of EV technology — from the battery management system and motor to charging infrastructure.

This gave them a holistic understanding of the technology trends, issues and gaps in the EV sector. They leveraged this knowledge and experience and established Oben Electric in August 2020.

Based in Bengaluru, India, Oben Electric designs, develops and manufactures electric motorcycles.

Oben Electric’s first model is RORR, which boasts a neo-classic design for the 21st century and beyond. It is designed, developed and manufactured in-house — not imported, retrofitted, or re-engineered.

“RORR is a sleek and futuristic-looking electric motorcycle, offering a top speed of 100kmph and accelerating from zero to 40 km in just three seconds. It can cover a range of 200kms (IDC),” claimed Madhumita. “It is fitted with a 4.4 kWh LFP (Lithium Ferro Phosphate) battery that is fully charged in two hours.”

RORR also boasts interactive, connected vehicle features, such as predictive maintenance, ride details, battery status, geo-fencing, geo-tagging, battery theft protection, charging station locator, on-demand service, and roadside assistance. It also gets more battery life cycles, withstands higher temperatures, and is environmentally friendly. The battery pack’s outer casing is made of aluminium diecast, which fortifies and prevents the battery pack from explosions in case of unusual incidents.

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“Its combined braking system makes RORR safe to ride even at higher speeds. In addition, its ‘driver alert system’ provides riders with visual and auditory cues, indicating when the two-wheeler is on, stationary, or requires maintenance. A new gamification feature is on the cards wherein a RORR consumer will be able to engage and communicate with another,” remarked Madhumita, an alumnus of the prestigious IIM Bangalore.

Besides, its proprietary MHX technology allows the heat to be evenly distributed across a larger surface area and ensures maximum heat exchange with the environment, thus keeping the battery pack cool during the ride.

The price starts from INR 125,000 (less than US$1,570).

RORR is available in three modes (Eco, City, and Havoc) and three colour variants (electric red, magnetic black, and voltaic yellow).

Unveiled in Bengaluru in March 2022, RORR will ride to seven more new cities across six States in phase I. Deliveries shall begin around the festive season in India.

“We aim to launch one new product every six months across different consumer segments. This will also be undertaken in a phased approach over the next two years. The intention is to sell one million units pan India and export in the coming years,” said Madhumita.

The startup has a 3.5-acre manufacturing plant in Bengaluru, with an initial manufacturing capacity of 300,000 units per year.

Oben Electric has secured US$2 million as seed capital from We Founder Circle, GVK Group, MD of Fortune 50 PE Fund and several CXOs of MNCs.

A market with massive potential

India is one of the world’s largest two-wheeler markets, reaching 15.2 million units in 2021 alone. Market researching company IMARC Group expects the number to reach 42.2 million units by 2027, growing a CAGR of 18.6 per cent.

Efforts are on at the national and State-level to shift this growing segment to EVs across India.

“The traction we have observed in the EV industry has predominantly been more across the B2B segment, last-mile delivery systems, and public transportation,” noted Madhumita. “The B2C segment is slowly accelerating. Very few qualitative offerings exist in this segment, and there is only a handful of products.”

In her opinion, OEMs (original equipment makers) need to build ICE (internal combustion engine)-comparable products to make the transition faster for a consumer to shift to an EV. The manufacturers also need to provide better cost-effective products and refuelling experience, which translates to a shorter or faster charging time in EVs.

Only a handful of electric motorcycle makers operate in India, namely  Tork Motors and Emflux Motors. Tork offers a maximum speed of 105kmph with a range of 180km, but it takes four to five hours to recharge the battery fully. Emflux, with more than 3x the price of Oben and Tork, is more catered to premium customers.

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Ather Energy is leading the electric scooter segment, selling 2,389 scooters in July 2022, recording a 24 per cent y-o-y growth. Ola Eletric, from the house of local ride-hailing giant Ola, is another serious contender in the e-scooter segment. Early this year, several Ola Electric consumers reported incidents of their vehicles catching fire, forcing it to recall its 1,441 units. According to Madhumita, this is a new and evolving industry, and the whole technology is getting better with time.

“As I mentioned, India doesn’t have many e-motorcycle makers, and we at Oben intend to provide consumers with ICE-comparable EVs and help them through this seamless transition. It is also crucial that EV products are manufactured in India to meet the needs of Indian consumers, topography, and climate,” she stated.

The government is waking up

Over the past ten years, various promotional measures have boosted EVs. Government policies, subsidies, and incentives have been formulated and launched to augment the acceptance of EVs and strengthen infrastructure. The more popular and recent one is FAME II — Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric vehicles — a flagship scheme for promoting electric mobility.

State governments are also rolling out production and manufacturing-related subsidies and tax incentives for EV makers looking at setting up their manufacturing plants.

Besides this, the government has also opened foreign direct investment (FDI) to support investment in the EV sector, which is now a US$206-billion opportunity market.

Consumers are also transitioning to EVs due to rising fuel costs and trends.

Thanks to all these favourable factors, India is witnessing a growth in EV sales across B2B and B2C segments with two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and four-wheelers. “Our strongest assumption is that if EVs can be offered as comparable as an ICE vehicle backed by robust after-sales support and better refuelling options, the consumer transition shall happen seamlessly, backed with trust and faith in the industry,” she said.

More clarity is required about the incentives and investments, especially for startups with promising products. Besides, a nodal regulatory body needs to be set up to ensure the quality of products. In addition, consumer awareness needs more push as it is still nascent in terms of understanding the product they own and its handling. The right means of communication and information about the product are critical factors in ensuring the right EV way. Manufacturers should be transparent with consumers and work closely with the ecosystem to deliver a great product, she went on.

She also mentioned that there is enormous scope for a lot of R&D in the battery vertical. “What we are witnessing right now is the first-line generation of batteries whose composition is mainly Lithium. Alongside Lithium-based composition is also NMC (Nickle Manganese Cobalt). Various robust battery types bring a different output set, performance, and life cycle.”

“New storage solutions are being researched and tested across various countries. The next line generation of batteries will be sodium-based, while others may be hydrogen, metal air, etc. These are still being tested and may be commercially available in the future. Hence, better-performing EVs can be expected globally,” Madhumita noted.

The world is going through an EV revolution, and India is at the forefront. India offers tremendous opportunities for domestic and foreign players as a vast market. But understanding the local conditions is a must for them to survive. Oben Electric has all the ingredients to become a leading player, but many challenges remain.

Also Read: Emflux Motors aims to replace Ducati with its electric sports bike in India

“The EV ecosystem needs to get stronger and grow manifolds — be it components, battery technology, or supply chain. The industry has been facing challenges that are slowing the transition. Firstly, most OEMs struggle to scout for good quality vendors and component manufacturers. Secondly, there is a dearth of skill sets and a limited talent pool. Thirdly, there is low awareness about government schemes to support the production of EVs and OEMs,” she said.

If India can fix all this in record time, it can become the EV capital of the world.

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Image Credit: Oben Electric

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