‘We’re looking into electric vehicles’: says Rajesh Agarwal Micromax MD

Micromax, which is known to manufacture smartphones is reportedly planning to get into the business of electric vehicles. After its success in smartphones industry, the move will diversify the market of Micromax.

Rajesh Agrawal Micromax MD says that the company is likely to enter the two-wheeler and three-wheeler electric vehicles segment. It is expected to face some of the organized and unorganized competitors. The company already has got approval by the authorities to test its lithium-ion batteries run vehicles.

In an era where people across the nation are adopting electric powered three wheelers for transportation, e-rickshaw could become a big market for Micromax. E-rikshaws are known for its lower running cost and low pollution emissions.

Rajesh Aggarwal, the Managing Director of Micromax, confirmed that the company is planning to enter the segment. “We’re looking into electric vehicles. We’re talking to technology partners,” he said in a recent interview with BGR. However, no other details about the venture is available right now.

It is reported that the company is seeking funding from the investors and is also looking to finalise its production location. The area of production is expected to be in and around where the automobile industry is already well established.

The Indian government has made strategic plans to adopt electric vehicles and reduce petrol/diesel consumption gradually. The government under the leadership of Narendra Modi is planning to sell only electric vehicles by 2030.

Last year in 2015, the Government of India launched a scheme called FAME (Faster Adopting & Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) to promote clean fuel cars.

E-vehicles will not only reduce carbon emissions but will also save the lives of the people who are dying at the rate of 1.2 million deaths per year due to air pollution. If successful, the project will become the biggest renewable energy revolution in the country which would also save around $60 billion of energy cost.

At present, the cost of e-vehicles is a lot more as compared to petrol/ diesel vehicles. The primary reason is the importing of Li-ion battery high cost. It has been reported that Bharat Heavy Electricals will invest heavily in the sector to fill the void of Li-ion batteries not manufactured in India which results in costly batteries.

As more companies will invest in the sector, more the consumers will purchase e-vehicles, resulting in gradual overall reduction of the cost of the vehicles. Many companies showcased multiple e-vehicles concept in Auto-Expo 2018, which means that a number of companies are ready to launch e-vehicles into the market soon.

It will be interesting to see the reaction of the Indian consumers to the e-vehicle market because the success and failure of the concept, both depends on the reaction of consumers.

Update as on Jul 2019: Micromax co-founder is transitioning from mobiles to mobility. His new venture Revolt Motors will launch AI-enabled electric bike on June 18.