Telangana-based start-up E-trio Automobiles is going to launch retrofitted EV cars in India. E-trio is said to be the first company in India to successfully get ARAI approval for retrofitted car kits in the Maruti Alto and Wagon R hatchbacks.

According to the company, these retrofitted electric cars do not require gears, come with swift acceleration and can travel up to 150km on a single charge.

E-trio says its factory has a capacity of converting 1,000 cars per month. The compny has also revealed that it is ready to sell kits and retrofitted cars in the market. The retrofitted kits have been sourced from China and Korea while the ‘Controller’ (for the kit) is indigenously developed. The company claims to have been testing cars for the past two years and its immediate goal is to roll out at least 5,000 cars in the next year. 

Sathya Yalamanchili, founder of the start-up, said, “Retrofitting is the way to go and need of the hour and these smart cars currently are the most efficient and economical cars compared to our counterparts in the market. Our vision is to create e-Mobility which inspires and nurtures pollution-free India. We believe that affordable range is the key to helping electromobility achieve a breakthrough in the near future.”

E-trio is currently working with technology guidance from an R&D team from San Francisco, which is headed by Stanford alumni. In the long run, E Trio is planning to get kit approvals for other fast-moving models in India and are currently in discussions with some leading car manufacturing companies from Japan and Thailand.

E-trio is looking forward for 100 percent EV adoption in India by the year 2030.