- The company foresees a business balance between electric three-, and two-wheelers
- Finance in the commercial electric vehicle industry continues to be a challenge
- On cards might be a commercial electric four-wheeler
Godawari ELectric Motors’ parent company Hira Group will be investing Rs 100 to Rs 150 crore in helping the electric vehicle company ramp up production, develop new products, and focus on localisation in India, Siddharth Agrawal, Managing Director, Godawari Green Energy, told Electronics For You, in an exclusive conversation on the sideline of Eblu Feo electric scooter launch.
He said, “We see a lot of potential in Godawari as an electric vehicle OEM. It is an integral part of Hira Group and as important as all the companies under that umbrella.”
The group’s FY23 revenue was reported as north of Rs 7500 crore, and Godawari Electric Motors is the youngest company to have been operating under the umbrella.
Agrawal added, “We have already invested close to INR 100 crore in the company. I think some of the new investments will also go towards R&D.”
A supplier of various raw materials to several domains, including automotive OEMs and component makers, this group, via the Godawari company, has also recently applied for a patent of new plastic material that it says is almost unbreakable and hence a good fit for making two-wheeler and four wheeler bodies.
A balance between electric two, and three-wheelers
Further, Agrawal believes that in the long term, the company will be able to maintain a balance between the business it generates from electric three-wheelers and two-wheelers. Though the former sells more in the commercial segment and the latter in the individual and personal use segment, the ticket size of the former is almost 2.5 to 3X of the latter.
“We want to create equal value in the commercial and the personal use segment. Too early to say right now, but we might also work on a commercial electric four-wheeler,” Agrawal said.
Additionally, dealers appointed by the company will be able to choose to retail both electric three-wheelers and two-wheelers made by it. Hyder Ali Khan, CEO of Godawari Motors, told Electronics For You that with the launch of the Eblo Feo electric scooter, the range of EVs offered by the OEM in the Indian market will help it to open at least 50 more dealerships in India.
Khan said, “There’s a healthy plan to appoint new dealerships and expand Godawari’s service network in India. We will close this calendar year with a handsome number of dealerships.
Agrawal added that if the finance problem in the electric three-wheeler market can be solved, the OEM can retail 3X to 4X of what it has sold in India since March 2023. “I am hopeful that we will be able to address this problem soon enough,” he said. On the other hand, he shares there is no such problem with electric two-wheelers.
2X the supplier base
With the capability to manufacture 4,000 electric two-wheelers and 400 electric three-wheelers per month, Godawari aims to add more product lines to its existing Raipur manufacturing facility.
Khan said, “We can double this capacity within days, but we want to ensure that the components we source are of the greatest quality and made locally in India.”
The company plans to localise more content by appointing 30 to 40 more suppliers. Once done, this will take the company’s total tally of suppliers from 40 (big ones) to 80. It will also introduce a new electric three-wheeler in the payload category sometime next month.
The India electric three-wheeler market size reached $890 million in 2022. IMARC Group expects the market to reach $2,156 million by 2028, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 15.8% from 2023-2028.
