Electric Two Wheelers News

Bajaj Auto has stopped taking bookings for the Bajaj Chetak electric scooter. The deliveries for the scooter have been hit as well, thanks to COVID-19.

Gurugram-based Okinawa Autotech commenced operations three years ago with electric scooters and the manufacturer will now enter the electric motorcycle space as well, as early as next year. Jeetender Sharma, Co-founder and MD - Okinawa has confirmed the development to carandbike in a recent interaction, and the manufacturer will bring the Oki100 electric motorcycle in the first quarter of 2020. The model will be a 125 cc equivalent and will take on the Revolt RV400, the only electric offering of its kind in this space.

Energica is the supplier of electric race bikes to each of the 18 riders, across 11 teams participating in the FIM MotoE World Cup.

The Delhi government released the latest draft of the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy 2019 earlier this week and the policy promises a number of subsidies, incentives, and support for the EV industry to grow in the national capital. The government says that the draft has been prepared after taking into considerations suggestions from different stakeholders and offers subsidies across electric two, three and four-wheelers, along with support for developing the necessary charging infrastructure. The policy aims to bring 25 per cent of the total number of new vehicle registrations to 'Electric Only' by 2025. In addition, the road tax and registration for EVs will be waived off for the early adopters as part of the policy. Given the promising Delhi EV Policy, the auto industry seeing it as a big push for the EV sector to grow. Here's how the industry reacted to the new policy.

The Delhi government has released the draft for the Electric Vehicle Policy 2019 that aims at the frequent use of electric vehicles in the national capital. The policy draft states that the primary goal is to improve Delhi's air quality by bringing down emissions from the transport sector. As a result, the policy will seek the rapid adoption of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) in such a way that they contribute 25 per cent to the overall new vehicle registrations by 2024." The draft of the Delhi EV Policy was first put out in the public domain in November last year and suggestions and comments from the stakeholders including non-profit think-tanks, academic experts, EV and battery manufacturers, as well as multilateral bodies and concerned individuals.

Ampere Vehicles recently launched its new electric scooter, the Reo Elite, in India with prices starting at Rs.45,099 (ex-showroom, Bengaluru). The company also started accepting bookings for the same for a token amount of Rs. 1,999.

The Ather 450 electric scooter has received its sixth over-the-air update since its launch last year. Customers of the e-scooter in Bengaluru and Chennai have received the newest update - 4.1.0 that brings a number of enhancements to the model. This includes onboard navigation and a smoother touchscreen experience on the model. According to the company's website, the dashboard now allows you to drop a pin to locate a destination that is not listed on the maps. The system also now allows automatic rerouting when the rider goes off-route, instead of manually selecting to accept or reject the new route.

With the EV space gaining prominence in India by the day, there are many players who are willing to set their foot in the Indian market. In fact, there's been an influx of electric two-wheeler makers in the last five years and major motorcycle companies like Hero Motocorp, TVS and Bajaj Auto have also invested in such start-ups. Joining next in the market with an investment of $ 100 million is the China-based Dao EVTech which is setting up its production facility in Hyderabad with a plan to begin operations from February 2020.