The motorcycle startup uses car-compatible CCS2 charging port to give riders access to 16,000 charging stations nationwide.
31 Oct 2024 | 10797 Views | By Radhika Dave & Kiran Murali
As vehicle electrification picks up pace in India, the paucity of charging stations could become a major factor limiting the further expansion and growth of EVs, particularly for electric motorcycles. Chennai-based startup Raptee.HV may have cracked this code in the electric motorcycle segment with its first model, which is built ...
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As vehicle electrification picks up pace in India, the paucity of charging stations could become a major factor limiting the further expansion and growth of EVs, particularly for electric motorcycles. Chennai-based startup Raptee.HV may have cracked this code in the electric motorcycle segment with its first model, which is built on a 240-volt architecture and comes with a CCS2 charging port.
This charging port is usually seen only on cars, and by equipping the T30 with a CCS2 port, the startup has made its bike compatible with most of the electric car charging stations across the country. With this, the startup has become the first to not only deliver a proper high-voltage product, but also the first to get it certified, and to make a high-voltage battery pack road-legal in India.
The company is hoping that the breakthrough could help it overcome the key challenge that has kept electrification from taking off in the motorcycle category – buyers don’t want to invest Rs 2.5 lakh in a motorcycle if they cannot go on long rides.
"Today, unfortunately, the two-wheeler industry does not have a unified charging standard, which means either I'll have to go to very specific charging stations that support only these specific vehicles, or I'll have to carry a 5-kilo charger with me wherever I go, which isn't very practical," pointed out Dinesh Arjun, CEO and cofounder.
Arjun further explained that customers will have access to 16,000 chargers, the largest network of chargers, from day one. "I don't believe it's possible for any OEM to set up their proprietary charging standard across the country, especially in India."
The company’s answer has been the switch to a high-voltage architecture for the motorbike, something no one else in India has been able to deliver yet. Arjun said the effort took five years. "We literally make about 22 different PCBs that go into each motorcycle to make high voltage possible."
A high-voltage architecture not only gives access to standardised car charging stations across the country, it also has other side benefits, including faster recharging and higher power.
"We're able to make customers understand that they can charge wherever they go, and more importantly, they don't have to wait hours for charging,” Arjun pointed out. “We're looking at a
36-minute charge time at fast-charging stations and a 64-minute charge time with home chargers."
Arjun believes that, with the high-voltage technology that his team has designed, electric motorcycles can finally claim to be as good as their petrol-powered counterparts, and that this can now kick-off the electrification of the motorcycle market in India.
Launched at Rs 2.39 lakh, the T30 does not have any direct rivals. It sits above the Matter Aera (Rs 1.74 lakh) and below the Ultraviolette F77 Mach 2 (Rs 2.99 lakh). It will be targeting the mid-premium segment, where they will go head to head against 250cc petrol vehicles as well.
During the first year, the company expects to sell 8,000 T30 units, translating to a projected revenue of roughly Rs 200 crore.
Arjun points out that his firm has obtained the necessary certifications and made the vehicle road-legal with one-tenth the funds of an average electric motorcycle startup and one-twentieth the funds of an electric scooter startup. It has also qualified at ARAI as the most powerful electric two-wheeler in India.
The Bluehill Capital and Artha99 Ventures-backed firm is in the middle of a USD 19 million fundraising round, which will be used to 'accelerate the number of vehicles on the road' and for R&D purposes.
As for expansion plans, Raptee plans to open six outlets in six metro cities, with an initial rollout in Chennai and Bengaluru. All the outlets will be company-owned and company-operated in the first year, after which it will adopt the franchisee model.
At present, the startup has only one platform, which competes with 250-300cc ICE motorcycles. However, the company doesn't intend to remain a single-product company for long. The next product on the same platform is likely to be rolled out toward the end of next year.
The company also has plans to develop new platforms above and below this category. "We're looking at products to compete with the 500-600cc category as well as the 100-150cc category," Arjun said.
"Our immediate next product will be based on the same platform, and two years from now, we will have new products on different platforms... We now have enough promoter equity to ensure that the company has independence for a fairly long time."
Raptee's aggressive plans in the electric motorcycle market come at a time when several new-age and traditional OEMs, including Hero MotoCorp, Royal Enfield, Ola Electric, and Ather Energy, are planning to enter the segment.
Meanwhile, the automaker is also looking to expand its operations outside India. In the first year, Raptee will enter neighboring markets such as Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, while it plans to focus on East European markets in a year or two.
"Europe is a CCS2-mandate geography, so it becomes easiest for us to deploy vehicles there because we fit into their charging infrastructure directly. We plan to enter international markets, specifically Europe, in late 2025-2026," Arjun said.