RR Global enters electric vehicle segment
The Mumbai-based firm plans to launch two electric scooter models under the brand name ‘BGAUSS’ by first week of August with prices ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 99,000
New Delhi: RR Global, a prominent player in electrical goods industry, is making a foray into electric vehicles segment with plans to invest Rs 125 crore in the next three years on the venture, according to a senior company official. The Mumbai-based firm plans to launch two electric scooter models under the brand name ‘BGAUSS’ by first week of August with prices ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 99,000.
“The reason why we entered into this (electric vehicles) space is because of the forward integration we are trying to do. We understand this space, power train – motor controller, cluster, battery, wire harness, lightning etc and 70 per cent of the components, we do day in and day out. We understand it very well,” RR Global Director Hemant Kabra told.
He further said,”We understand distribution network, service, performance etc. It’s quite a bit of a natural extension for us to get into this pace.”
When asked how much investment is the company putting in for its foray into the EV space, Kabra said, over the next 3 years it is planning to put Rs 125 crore in this business and that there is no external investor, it is all an internal funding.
Elaborating on the company’s plans for the EV journey he said, “Currently we have developed our own motor and controller and wire harness internally but to launch and to start with the first two products we are going (for components) outside India.”
Currently, RR Global is using Bosch motor and controller, but eventually within the next 8 months to 1 year onwards, the company will have its own products in its bikes, he added.
Kabra said the company is developing its own products, which are undergoing endurance test.
“…we need at least one year of endurance of our motor, controller and wire harness before we put it on our product,” he added.
The products that will hit the Indian market initially have been designed in China but are customised for the Indian condition — such as the braking system, headlight, seat, mirror, and “in 9 – 12 months we will go to 100 per cent, we will adapt it here in India”.
For the EV venture, the company is “renting facility” inside its own premises which can churn our 80,000 units annually and can be scaled up to 2.5 lakh per year, he said.
“We are going to start on a rental basis because we are going to invest more and more into product development and marketing setup. Infrastructure, we will develop once we have reached huge volumes. Once you reach volumes like 1 lakh or 1.5 lakh then you can think of setting up your own infrastructure,” Kabra said.
RR Global will launch its electric two-wheelers in the Southern and Western regions in seven states. Initially, it will be rolled out in cities such as Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and Coimbatore.
The company is also working on a cargo model electric vehicle, which has seen a huge demand after the outbreak of COVID-19.
“Previously we thought we would launch it in 2022-2023 but we feel that the need and the demand is coming up so fast for this cargo model. So we have started designing this product from today only and maybe by next year July we should be able to get this product as well,” Kabra added.
Source: PTI
