The Indian automobile industry will soon witness a new category entrant: an ‘electric microcar’ christened Robin, a two-seater EV that the makers say, would be as maneuverable as a motorbike.
Wings EV, an Indore-based firm, founded by a father-son duo will unveil Robin in Bengaluru in April 2025 to boost “personal commuting with zero pollution, less congestion and less road space”, said Pranav Dandekar, CEO and co-founder.
Mr. Dandekar, a PhD in computer science and a Stanford University graduate said, “Robin, has already cleared all safety tests conducted by ARAI Pune, to make it safer than any existing two or three-wheeler in the market. We hope to sell 3000 units in the first year against the 10,000 annual production capacity of our Indore plant.”
The EV firm has raised funds from various investors including Venture Highway and “several high-profile angel investors from India and Silicon Valley,” the CEO said.
Wings EV has conducted user research in six cities across the country and more than 300 test drives in Bengaluru, said Mr. Dandekar, a techie who worked 17 years in Silicon Valley.
Later in 2025, Robin will also be launched in Chennai and Hyderabad or Pune, before the company rolls it out nationwide in a new format.
‘’We are planning to start deliveries in April 2025. The order that currently we have in hand gives us a sense of what our first batch of production is going to be. If we find adequate volumes in southern markets, we will also consider setting up a production unit in the region,” Mr. Dandekar added.
Robin will be available in three variants: a basic non-AC 65 km range model priced (ex-showroom) at ₹2 lakh (11% higher on road), a mid variant with a fan and 90 km range at ₹2.5 lakh and a premium variant with a 90 km range, an AC and patented audio alert systems for enhanced safety at ₹3 lakh.
Fully loaded, Robin passed 12 degrees of climb against the requirement of 7 degrees. Most flyovers are in the range of 3/4 degrees, Mr. Dandekar said.
According to his father Prakash Dandekar, CTO and co-founder of Wings EV, India sells more than 18 million two wheelers a year. “In the next 15 to 20 years, a large chunk of two wheeler buyers may move to two-seater micro cars,’‘ the CTO said, who formerly headed Embedded Systems and Telematics Division at Tata Technologies.
Robin is powered by a drive-by-wire powertrain, which is similar to the fly-by-wire technology used in advanced airplanes, he added.
