Retrosa, the first-ever electric two-wheeler to be manufactured in Andhra Pradesh by a city-based firm, is scheduled to hit the roads from March 30.
Manufactured by Avera New & Renewable Energy Moto Corp Pvt. Ltd. in Nunna, Retrosa will offer levels of performance, robustness and range that have never been offered before by other electric two-wheelers, says A. Venkata Ramana, founder and CEO of Avera.
“The main reason that no electric scooter has succeeded so far is due to lack of performance and range as compared to traditional fossil fuel-based scooters. These are the basic expectations of any rider and Retrosa offers these with a top speed of 92 kmph and a range of over 140 km on a single charge,” Mr. Ramana said.
While the battery system and controller were developed locally by Avera, components like the 72V-3000W motor, lithium ferrous phosphate battery and design were procured from Italy’s Moto Morini, Bosch, Optimum Nano and others.
The manufacturing unit in Nunna now has an initial capacity of manufacturing 25,000 units per year.
The company, which opened bookings on January 23, has received 250 bookings so far. “The first phase of bookings will end on February 14 and the target is to achieve 500 bookings. All 500 vehicles will be delivered to customers on March 30,” Mr. Ramana said.
Regular sales and bookings will commence from April after new rules on electric vehicles come into force, he added.
On the other hand, Avera also entered into a deal with one of the country’s leading food delivery services in Bengaluru. “The food delivery firm has chosen to use Retrosa vehicles for its operations. The move will help the firm save nearly ₹2 per km as the cost of running a Retrosa scooter is 18 paise per km,” he said.
Avera has already applied for permission in Karnataka to expand its presence in South India.
The scooter was formally launched by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at the AP Energy Innovation Summit where it was exhibited. Mr. Ramana said that 70 units were sold on the first day of the summit.
“Apart from service centres in all districts, Avera will offer free power to all its vehicles through charging stations that are coming up in Vijayawada, Amaravati, Mangalagiri, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati soon. We have plans to set up 100 stations across the country and are awaiting support from the government,” Mr. Ramana said.
While recharging at Avera stations will be over within minutes, charging through normal power sources at households will take over a couple of hours.
Mr. Ramana said AP has recently released a GO asking apartment owners to provide charging points for electric two-wheelers.
