City-based Cal-on Motors will soon launch its Elan brand of electric motorettes in Andhra Pradesh. This will be the second electric vehicle from the company after Elektra 2.5 launched last year.
Elan is being designed for carrying loads up to 200 kg and is primarily targeted at rural markets, said A Suresh Babu, Cal-On managing director.
Speaking to Business Standard, he said though electric bikes were not a new concept, the company had localised them by making the chassis and all other parts, except the motor and the battery, at its Charlapally plant, about 30 km from here. The motor and the battery have been imported from China.
The new vehicle, which will use a 250 watt motor, will look like a conventional moped and clock a speed of 25 kmph. A six-hour charge will last for about 70 km. On an average, the battery will last for about two years, he said.
Elan would be produced from the existing plant, in which the company had invested Rs 7.5 crore in phases. “Competition is building now. But the acceptance for the electric vehicles is on the rise and this is a positive trend,” Suresh Babu said.
Babu said adding that a second plant would be set up near Vijayawada in about two years. Like all 250 watt electric vehicles, the entry point into the electric two-wheeler segment, this too does not require any registration or a driving licence.
The company had launched Elektra in November 2008 and so far sold about 1,000 units. Though its plant capacity is 300 vehicles per day, it is making only 200 vehicles per month.
According to Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles, the electric two-wheeler market in India was about 1,10,000 units in 2008-09, valued around Rs 350 crore. It is expected to grow around 20 per cent this year. The market has both organised and unorganised players.