E3 Electric.Ai has said the prospect of more utilitarian vehicles was the one of the top reasons it built its first electric two-wheeler, the Trion scooter on a modular platform.
"That's the first reason why we brought the modular platform," said Sanjeev P, founder and chief executive. "You're asking me, will there be subsequent products that are going to be more utilitarian? The answer is yes. More details will follow."
The remark came in answer to a question on whether E3 would replicate the business-to-business fleet channel Sanjeev built at Ampere Electric. He did not commit to a fleet channel and gave no timing, format or customer.
Sanjeev was Chief Operating Officer of Ampere's two-wheeler business, a Greaves Cotton subsidiary, from September 2019 to April 2022. He built its institutional channel around Domino's, BigBasket, Bounce, Amazon, Reliance Jio and eBikeGo, which placed an initial order for 2,000 units. By his own account, Ampere's monthly revenue over that period rose from about Rs 2 crore to about Rs 100 crore and the network passed 350 dealerships across more than 300 markets.
Entrepreneurs were named as one of three buyer groups in the launch presentation, alongside families and young riders travelling to college and office. Asked at the launch what else the platform would carry, Sanjeev said there would be formats other than a scooter, that work on them had already started, and that he did not want to unveil more. On motorcycles, he said the company would do whatever the market required, and that scooters account for 96 to 99 percent of electric two-wheelers sold in India.
The entry variant is the closer fit for fleet duty. The C1 sells at Rs 99,999 ex-showroom in Bengaluru with a removable 2.3 kilowatt-hour pack and 108 kilometres of IDC range, the only Trion with a detachable battery. Removable packs suit high daily utilisation because the vehicle does not stand idle while charging.
Others are moving on the same demand. Ola Electric is reported to be developing scooters specific to fleet operators, aimed at urban delivery and quick commerce. Zypp Electric, which rents to delivery riders for Zepto, Blinkit and Swiggy, runs the one of the largest electric two-wheeler fleet in the country.
Institutional orders would test the pace E3 has set itself. The company has signed about 30 dealers so far, begins deliveries in Bengaluru in September and has said it will expand market by market. Fleet volumes arrive in blocks, carry thinner margins than retail and draw on service capacity the network has not yet built.
E3 has not said whether a utility vehicle would be sold through the same dealer network or direct to fleet operators.