Chennai-based Mauto Electric Mobility Pvt. Ltd. will soon launch a series of electric three-wheelers catering to business and hospitality segment.
Incorporated in 2019, the company has come out with over 13 variants and is targeting the domestic as well as export market.
“These vehicles are proper three-wheelers and will look like an autorickshaw but can be customised according to the business needs,” Yasmeen Jawahar Ali, Chief Executive Officer of Mauto Electric Mobility, said.
Ms. Yasmeen said: “For instance, we have m-veggies which has racks where fruits and vegetables can be displayed and delivered at customer’s doorstep.
“We have m-garbage (an alternative to the huge garbage vehicles) which can collect wet waste and dry waste separately. There is another segment called Business on Wheels for entrepreneurs,” she said.
“The ideation for this venture started in 2019. But during the lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, I came across so many auto drivers using their vehicles to sell vegetables, meat and other products. Some even used their vehicles to sell tea and meat. That’s when we thought of creating space in the three-wheeler segment for such businesses,” said Mansoor Alikhan, Chairman of Mauto Group.
“If anyone wants to start a business and does not want to invest on a huge rental space, they can buy this vehicle,” he added.
Huge order
The company believes that this would encourage more people to get into entrepreneurship. It has bagged a huge order from the Republic of Benin and Republic of Togo (both in West Africa).
Mauto hopes to work closely with the Tamil Nadu government for these projects.
“There are rural pockets where huge vehicles cannot go. These vehicles can be used in such places and we have an m-ambulance that can be utilised in rural areas,” Ms. Yasmeen said.
These vehicles are priced ₹3 lakh and above and the company has tied up with nationalised banks to help buyers get finance.
In 2019, the group unveiled a retrofit electric auto that was launched by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
The firm had inked a deal with Dubai-based KMC Group to convert petrol variant of autorickshaws into electric vehicles.
An MoU worth ₹100 crore was signed during the Chief Minister’s stopover in Dubai last year.
