January 17, 2014: Japanese electric vehicle manufacturer, Terra Motors is all set to mark its official entry in India in the upcoming Auto Expo 2014. The company is not only setting up its India office but is also planning to launch (if not just display) electric scooters, and electric three-wheelers at the expo.

Without divulging many details, Teppei Seki, country manager, Terra Motors India, told Autocar Professional that “we will soon make an official announcement over our presence in India and will launch our electric scooters, and three-wheelers at the Auto Expo.”

The company currently also operates out of other Asian markets such as Vietnam and Philippines and sells revolutionary products, one of which is the A4000i. The model, released last year (July 2013) in Tokyo, is termed as the world’s first mass production model to be connected to a smartphone (iPhone series currently). The feature enables the rider to store details such as electricity consumption, battery life, riding data and others to cloud database.

The A4000i uses a rear in-wheel motor which is powered by Terra Motors’ own lithium ion battery pack (48V/40AH), which according to the company data lasts for 50,000 km (lifetime range). Terra Motors aims at selling this model primarily in the South-Asian markets (including Japan) and, according to a company release, are targeting to sell nearly 100,000 units by end-2015.

Terra Motors may display the A4000i and other similar electric scooters at the expo. The global operations of this company are headed by Toru Tokushige, who leads a team of engineers from Toyota, Honda and Yamaha globally.

While electric two-wheeler makers in India continue to face lag in technology and zeal to promote the environment-friendly vehicles, it would be interesting to see if foreign competition entering India could be a wake-up call for them. We expect an official announcement from Terra Motors very soon.

AMIT PANDAY

Photograph: Terra Motors’ A4000i scooter.