EV Startup River Launches Escooter Indie To Take On Ola Electric, Ather Energy

Amid a significant rise in adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country over the last one year, particularly in the two- and three-wheeler segments, EV startup River on Wednesday (February 22) launched its first electric two-wheeler model to grab a share in the fast-growing market.

River’s escooter model, Indie, comes with a motor that has a peak power of 6.7 kW and can reach a top speed of 90 km per hour. The electric two-wheeler, priced at INR 1.25 Lakh (ex-showroom Bengaluru), has a 4 kWh battery and provides a range of 120 km. The vehicle can be charged to 80% in 5 hours with a standard charger, River claimed. 

River opened pre-orders for Indie on its website today and will begin deliveries from August this year

Founded in March 2021 by Aravind Mani and Vipin George, River is backed by marquee investors such as Chris Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital, Maniv Mobility, Toyota Ventures, and Trucks VC. The startup has raised $13 Mn so far in two rounds – seed and Series A. 

River invested most of the funding it raised in product development and R&D. The startup has an R&D facility in Bengaluru and a manufacturing facility in Karnataka’s Hoskote. River also claims to have built a majority of its EV components, including battery packs, and drivetrains, in-house.

“River’s mission is to improve the day-to-day lives of people through a design-first approach. Our first product Indie is a bold statement, combining two different offerings—utility and lifestyle. It will be the most sensible scooter with the right mix of practicality, capability and style”, Mani, cofounder and CEO of River, said during a media interaction.

River currently has 300 employees, out of which 250 are in the R&D department.

Talking to Inc42, Mani hinted that River is planning to raise the next round of funding soon. The fresh funds would be used by the startup to develop its go-to-market strategy.

Talking about the distribution network, Mani said, “We are working with distributors. We will start with Bengaluru and have a city-wise scaling plan. We will be in three-five cities in 2023.”

River would compete with the likes of Ather Energy, Ola Electric, Hero Electric, Ampere, and Okinawa Autotech who have established themselves in the crowded two-wheeler EV market in the country. Revolt, Ultraviolette Automotive, Oben Electric, Odysse, and Orxa Energies are among the other players in this space.

Ola Electric, the current market leader in the space in terms of vehicle sales, is aggressively expanding its models. It recently launched two new variants of its existing Ola S1 and Ola S1 Air scooters at lower price points of INR 99,999 and INR 84,999, respectively.

The startup also recently announced that it would invest INR 7,600 Cr for setting up manufacturing facilities in Tamil Nadu over the next five years. Ola Electric is planning to diversify its offerings and come out with mass-market scooters and motorcycles. It is also aiming to manufacture batteries for the vehicles. 

The registrations of electric two-wheelers in the country stand at 1.1 Lakh units in 2023 so far, as per Vahan data. The year 2022 saw registrations of 6.3 Lakh two-wheeler EVs.