Bounce Looks At 100% EV Fleet With In-House Scooter Lineup In 2021

Bengaluru-based scooter-sharing startup Bounce said it would add about 4,000 more electric two-wheelers by February 2021 as it looks to transition to a 100% electric vehicle (EV) fleet by the third quarter next year.

More than 10,000 vehicles of this fleet would include the company’s in-house designed bikes.

Bounce started working on their self-assembled and self-designed electric scooters earlier this year. Last month, it received all the required approvals for its retro fit electric scooters and invited customers for a test ride on November 29.

Even other startups like Ather Energy, Revolt, Okinawa, Tork Motors and others have received the certifications for their electric two-wheelers in the past. However, Bounce is the only consumer-focused bike-sharing platform to receive the certification in India.

Bounce has reportedly designated a separate team of engineers to create this electric-scooter. The company will soon require a manufacturing unit or partners to help scale up the production processes and offer these EVs on a subscription pricing model as well as on a long-term rental basis. It will also work with delivery and ecommerce companies to supply scooters for last-mile use.

Commenting on the latest development, CEO and cofounder Vivekananda Hallekere said, “We always believed that widespread adoption of EVs will happen only by fleet operators as the backend infrastructure can be built before fleet deployment, thus solving the catch-22 situation. When COVID impacted business, we took advantage of the period to accelerate our EV adoption strategy.”

Bounce was catering to nearly 1.30 Lakh rides daily, but the number had dropped to 15K rides as the nation stepped into a lockdown. This is when the company decided to lay more focus on branching out its services to the bike-sharing business to subscription-based model and logistics partners. The company’s electrification efforts were also the aftermath of revamped business priorities.

In the past few months, Bounce saw a steady rise in the number of daily rides and now has reached 35% of its pre-Covid numbers. It also resumed operations in many cities and Tier II markets such as Hassan, Mysuru, Vijayawada besides Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

The company was founded in 2014 by Vivekananda, Varun Agni, and Anil G. It has raised about $214.2 Mn from marquee investors like InnoVen Capital, Accel India, B Capital, Navi Technologies, Chiratae Ventures and more.