Electric mobility firm Bounce on Thursday launched its maiden consumer e-scooter 'Infinity E1' with dual options starting at Rs 45,099 (ex-showroom Delhi), heating up the competition in the fast-expanding domestic EV industry.
The scooter with battery and charger is priced at Rs 68,999 (Delhi Ex-showroom), while the one without battery is priced at Rs 45,099 ((Delhi Ex-Showroom) plus subscription to battery as-a-service.
It said the offer of a "battery as a service" option with the e-scooter is a first of its kind initiative in the domestic market.
Customers can pre-book this smart scooter by paying an initial refundable payment of Rs 499, the company said, adding that its e-scooters are FAME II eligible.
The company said that pre-bookings for its maiden offerings begin from Thursday, while deliveries across India are expected to start at the end of the March quarter next year, through its dealership network and online platform.
Backed by marquee investors including Accel India, Accel US, Sequoia Capital India, Falcon Edge, Qualcomm, Omidyar Network and others, earlier this year e-scooter rental company Bounce acquired 22 Motors, including its manufacturing unit in Bhiwadi (Rajasthan), valued at USD 7-million.
Additionally, early last month, it announced its plans to invest USD 100 million across manufacturing of e-scooters and expanding the battery-swapping infrastructure over the next 12 months.
The annual production capacity of the Bhiwadi factory is 180,000 scooters. Considering the potential of the Indian market, the company plans to install another plant in southern India.
"The Bounce Infinity E1 has been designed and manufactured to meet the changing needs of electric scooter customers in India. We are pleased to announce that we are the first to offer both options - to swap batteries on our network and charge them at home." for Infinity E1, ” said Vivekananda Hallekere, Co-founder-CEO Bounce.
"We are committed to taking all challenges to make India a leading EV in the adoption of electric vehicles globally," said Hallekere.
The e-scooters come with a 48V 39AH portable battery, switch and play, which can be charged in 4-5 hours by plugging it into any normal outlet and offers a range of up to 85 km per charge.
It also comes with other features like a digital speedometer and a 12-liter boot to provide enough storage space. It also has high-end projector headlights, while advanced lithium-ion packages manage heat efficiently, according to the company.
It will also come with a comprehensive warranty for 3 years and up to 50,000 km, it said.
The company said customers have the option of getting the very affordable Infinity E1 without the battery and using the battery-swap network instead.
Customers pay for a battery change as long as they swap an empty battery for a fully charged battery from Bounce's extensive switching network. Bounce claimed that this significantly reduces the scooter's operating costs, by as much as 40 percent compared to conventional scooters.
Bounce is building a vast battery exchange network through prominent partnerships, serving both its retail customers and its ride-sharing business.
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