TVS-backed Ultraviolette To Launch F77 Electric Motorcycle In India This November

TVS Motor-backed sustainable mobility startups Ultraviolette Automotive, on Tuesday, announced the launch of its zero-emission connected electric motorcycle, F77, next month.

The ebike, which is scheduled to be launched on November 13, 2019, will be enabled with ride GPS fleet tracking, remote diagnostics, over-the-air (OTA) or wireless upgrades, regenerative braking, multiple ride modes, ride analytics and bike tracking.

The company claims to have developed the bike ‘ground-up’, taking inspiration from advanced engineering simulations and multi-level safety systems that are used in the aviation industry.

What Is Ultraviolette Automotive?

Founded in 2016 by Narayan Subramaniam and Niraj Rajmohan, Bengaluru-based Ultraviolette Automotive specialises in sustainable mobility and energy infrastructure.

“At Ultraviolette Automotive, all our products and solutions are designed and developed with a single-minded focus towards delivering high levels of performance and unparalleled user experience across the usage and ownership experience cycles,” said Subramaniam, in a press release.

Ultraviolette Automotive got two-wheeler maker TVS on board as an investor in 2017. TVS had acquired 14.78% stake in the company in 2017, and later got an additional 10.98% stake in 2018. In both the deals, TVS has invested $1.5 Mn (INR 11 Cr) to hold 25.65% shares in Ultraviolette Automotive.

Before getting TVS on board, the company was bootstrapping itself with a capital of $77.5K (INR 50 Lakh). Ultraviolette Automotive had reported a revenue of $ 480 (INR 31,570) in 2015-16 and $5K (INR 3.21 Lakh) in 2016-17.

Electric Motorcycles Market in India

With sales dominated by the basic commuters, India is the second-largest motorcycle market in the world. More than 20 Mn two-wheelers were sold in India in 2017–18, making it the most popular vehicle category sold in India. Looking at this trend and the government’s push for electric mobility, various two-wheeler makers are trying to jump in to get their share of the market.

In June 2019, Gurugram-based Revolt Intellicorp had launched its AI-enabled electric motorcycle RV400 with a range of 156 KM on four hours of charging. The bike was connected with Revolt mobile app, which enables users to remote start/stop the bike, search Revolt’s mobile battery swap stations, change motorcycle sound and volume, and access real-time bike diagnostics among other features.

Pune-based Tork Motorcycles has also developed a “cloud-connected customisable” electric motorcycle T6X, which is expected to launch by the end of 2019. The bike is said to have a range of 100 Km on one full charge. The company also claims charging the vehicle would cost up to INR 28.