He hopes to cash in on the growing concerns over global warming and the need to reduce carbon footprint. Thirty-year-old Dhivik, a second generation entrepreneur and founder of Go GreenBOV (Battery Operated Vehicles), a Bangalore headquartered start-up that makes electric battery operated bikes, is confident of his prospects.
With 18,000 Go GreenBOV bikes on the roads in Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and sales to the tune of 900–1,000 two-wheelers every month, Dhivik is a happier man than when he started off in 2007.
“The primary challenge when we started selling was consumer awareness. Another discouraging fact is that, from over 20 plus electric two-wheeler assemblers four years ago, only seven mainstream players remain. I am happy I stuck it out to see sales steadily increase from 12 units a month to 1,000 units today,” says Dhivik, an Electronics and Communications engineer.
Superior value proposition
After graduating, while Dhivik was busy helping start-ups build and market their brands, his father asked if he would be interested in building an electric two-wheeler for Indian roads. “The proposition excited me, especially the idea of building a new brand and a new market for electric two-wheelers,” recalls Dhivik. The idea came to his father during one of his international jaunts, where he met a German firm that had developed a prototype of an electric two-wheeler. “We tied up with that German firm to source all the electronics for the two-wheeler. We import batteries from Korea, source motors and plastics from China and electrical systems from Japan,” says Dhivik, who received a seed capital of ₹30 lakh from his father.
One of the main causes for worry is the fear of running out of battery charge in the middle of a commute.
“I have addressed this ‘range anxiety’ by ensuring that our two-wheelers run 120 km on a full charge (takes 7-8 hours) compared to 50-60 km of competition. Our bikes can carry a load of 180 kg while competitors offer 130 kg,” he says.
Go GreenBOV is in the process of formalising a $10-million joint venture with a Korean firm to manufacture electric batteries.
“This will be the country’s first electric battery manufacturing unit for everything from golf carts, cars, two-wheelers to forklifts and wheelchairs. When this plant is fully operational by December, it will reduce our dependence on imports for two-wheelers from 53 per cent to 30 per cent while the rest is manufactured in our Kolar plant,” says Dhivik.
Expansion plan
While profitability is still a few years away, the self-funded company (₹12 crore from inception) plans to establish a pan-India presence next year. Till then, Dhivik is pinning his hopes for an increase in sales on two things. “First, there are 7-8 lakh electric vehicles on Indian roads and this number is growing at 87 per cent. Second, the Government is pondering subsidising electric two-wheelers by ₹7,000–8,000, up from ₹4,000 offered in 2012 which was withdrawn after six months.”
This article was originally published in >The Hindu Business Line.
