Altigreen, a commercial electric vehicle maker, inaugurated its latest retail experience centre in Hadapsar, Pune on Friday. This is the company’s eighth retail dealership in India in a span of two months. As per the company, the experience centre will allow EV enthusiasts to access Altigreen’s range of electric cargo vehicles. Additionally, the commercial electric vehicle maker claims that its electric 3W offering, neEV recently achieved the feat of completing a 150+ kilometre intercity drive, between two places in Karnataka – Mysore Palace and Bangalore Palace – on a single charge, in about six hours.

For the partnership, Altigreen opted to go with Jubilant MotorWorks, a dealer partner for Audi and MG Motor. The Altigreen-Jubilant MotorWorks showroom in Pune was launched at the hands of Rashmi Urdhwareshe, President at SAEINDIA and Former Director, ARAI.

Speaking on Jubilant Motorworks’ partnership with Altigreen, Amit Jain, CEO, Jubilant Motorworks, said, “It’s a momentous occasion for us to partner with Altigreen in chiselling the future of mobility in the country. We are aligned with the recent e-mobility trends and already see a massive potential driven by the nation’s agenda of electrification. We are extremely happy to be able to introduce eco-friendly mobility and a sustainable future into our business fabric. We introduce the full range of Altigreen’s premium quality vehicles for the first time in Pune at Jubilant Motorworks’ facility in Hadapsar.”

“We were one of the early movers during the onset of EVs in India,” Jain further cited and continued, “The adaptability today is something we saw coming. Altigreen has a value system we believe in, and we create deep and long-lasting relationships.”

According to Altigreen, every element of the dealership has been designed to lend a welcoming feel, especially to all those walking in, including autorickshaw drivers, small business owners and people from all walks of life. The company intends to ensure that the dealership reflects Altigreen’s ethos of respect and empathy, and its endeavour to gain the trust of consumers through transparent dialogue.

At the inauguration, Dr Amitabh Saran, Founder and CEO, Altigreen, said, “With the launch of this new retail experience centre in Pune, we are steadily building a strong nationwide network to cater to the rising demand for commercial EVs in the country. For now, Maharashtra is the only state where we now have two retail experience centres. As a homegrown company, we take great pride in delivering Made-in-India products. We are investing significantly to strengthen our production and R&D capabilities while developing a robust pan India distribution network to offer the best and cleanest last-mile transportation. We are happy to continue our partnership with Jubilant Motorworks, now in Pune as well, and deliver world-class products in multiple vehicle categories.”

Sharing his views more in depth, Dr Saran asserted, “Whenever we do any of our dealerships, it’s not just about the vehicle, but giving respect to the customers / auto drivers as well – which we all usually tend to give only if there’s a strike. When we started looking at this space, we thought that it must be something that can compete with what’s on the roads. In a country like India, where diesel vehicles, ICEs, etc. have been doing a fabulous job, the EVs have to be at least as good as them. The idea is to ensure that no matter in what capacity we are doing this, there should be a pride of ownership.”

Urdhwareshe, who was the chief guest at the event, put across her thoughts, too, in terms of EVs and Altigreen’s journey. She averred that EVs is a different segment and serves a very important purpose in addressing the transportation needs of the urban, rural areas and more.

“I have seen the struggle they have been through, finally arriving at a product that is fit to rock the market,” she went on to say and continued, “I can see that the product is really clean in nature. I am also very happy that Altigreen decided to position in the three-wheeler segment. Moreover, for the three-wheeler segment, the cost of ownership holds the most significance.”

Highlighting her thoughts on the Altigreen-Jubilant MotorWorks partnership, she expounded, “Having three-wheelers and their commitment to green mobility is very unique. Jubilant MotorWorks and Altigreen have excellent commitment to it.” She further addressed the audience saying that she would like to appeal to them to share their experiences with the transport authorities, so that it will encourage other users to shift to electric mobility. 

While at the inauguration, several customers were also invited up on the dais, who were given keys to Altigreen’s electric three-wheeler.

Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has placed an extra order for 148 electric buses from Tata Motors, the biggest commercial vehicle manufacturer in India. This purchase comes after BMTC placed an earlier order for 921 electric buses, the majority of which have been delivered and are operating effectively with an uptime of more than 95 percent.

The Tata Starbus EV 12-metre low-floor electric buses will be supplied, operated and maintained for a term of 12 years by TML Smart City Mobility Solutions Ltd, a completely owned subsidiary of Tata Motors. With its best-in-class features and outstanding design, the Tata Starbus EV offers a pleasant and environmentally friendly commute. These zero-emission electric buses are built on cutting-edge battery technologies and next-generation design to provide a convenient, safe and comfortable intra-city journey around Bengaluru.

Ramachandran R, IAS, MD, BMTC, said, "We are happy to further strengthen our partnership with Tata Motors with these additional 148 electric buses for our fleet modernisation. The performance of the existing Tata electric buses has been exceptional, aligning perfectly with our commitment to sustainable and efficient public transportation. The larger e-bus fleet will significantly enhance our capacity to provide eco-friendly, comfortable and reliable services to the citizens of Bengaluru."

Asim Kumar Mukhopadhyay, CEO and MD, TML Smart City Mobility Solutions Limited, said, "We are honoured by BMTC's continued trust in our e-mobility solutions. This additional order of 148 buses is a testament to the proven success of our Starbus EVs and the operational excellence delivered in Bengaluru's urban environment. We remain committed to delivering innovative solutions that benefit both the community and the environment."

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), the country's largest passenger vehicle manufacturer, has shared the teaser image for its first electric vehicle product - the e Vitara.

Set to be unveiled at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025, the e Vitara will be made in India for the world. It was recently unveiled by Suzuki Motor Corporation at Milan, Italy.

Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “The e Vitara is a testament of our unwavering commitment to sustainable mobility and technological innovation. With decades of automotive expertise, we have combined advanced electric technology with a customer-first approach to deliver something truly transformative. At Maruti Suzuki, we have always believed that to promote EV adoption, we need to create a holistic ecosystem that simplifies customers' battery electric vehicle ownership journey.”

“A critical barrier to the adoption of EVs is the lack of accessible charging. To tackle this issue, we are committed to introduce a reliable and comprehensive EV ecosystem alongside the e Vitara. This will include home charging solutions as well as a nationwide network of fast chargers available at Maruti Suzuki dealerships and service touchpoints. Our goal is to make EVs accessible, convenient, and appealing to a broader set of customers, and this is exactly what we have set out to achieve with the e Vitara,” he added.

​​Vadodara-headquartered electric vehicle company WardWizard Innovations & Mobility recently launched its new range of EV offerings, which it expects to give a new charge to its retail sales.

It was on 13 December 2024 the Joy e-rik V1 (L5) and Joy Bandhu (L3) electric three-wheelers in the passenger category and Joy Sahayak + Cargo (L5) and Joy Eco Loader (L3) in the electric three-wheeler cargo space were launched by the EV maker, thus marking its entry into the fast-growing electric three-wheeler space.

The Joy e-rik V1, priced at INR 385,000 (ex-showroom), comes with 10.24 kW li-ion battery, 50 kmph max speed and 140 km claimed range on a full charge. It can be charged in 4.5-5 hours using the 50 Amp charger.

The Joy Bandhu priced at INR 134,000, uses a 7.2 kW lead-acid battery, has a claimed range of 120 km and top speed limited to 25 kmph.

On the other hand, the Joy Sahayak + Cargo, priced at INR 424,000, is targeted for payload capacity of 650 kg + driver, max speed of 50 kmph, up to 130 km range on a single charge. It uses a 10.2 kW LFP li-ion battery and can be charged in four hours using 50 Amp charger. The Joy Eco Loader, on the other hand, comes with a payload capacity of 310 kg + driver and is priced at INR 130,000.

At present, electric three-wheeler sales in India are averaging 56,674 units a month (CY 2024) as compared to 47,204 units last year. What’s also driving the sales is the government incentives like the Centre’s PM E-Drive scheme that provides demand incentives to support purchase of 316,000 e-three-wheelers including e-rickshaws. They are entitled to a subsidy of INR 25,000 in the first year and INR 12,500 in the second year. For the L5 category (cargo e-three-wheelers), the incentive is INR 50,000 per unit in the first year and INR 25,000 the next.

For the Vadodara-based EV maker, the idea to enter the electric three-wheeler space is on the back of the growing demand for greener last-mile delivery as well as last-mile mobility connectivity options.

Interestingly, it has already onboarded 27 dealerships that will focus on selling electric three-wheelers. Furthermore, it will also provide preference for its around 900 existing dealer and network partners to sell its new offerings.

For FY2025, WardWizard Innovations & Mobility estimates to sell around 50,000 units of electric vehicles across electric two-wheelers (low speed and high speed) and three-wheelers (L3 & L5) in India. It estimates that the sales will grow by 22-24 percent YoY in FY2026.

While it has recently entered the e-three-wheeler space, the company expects the new products to have around 30-35 percent share in its overall sales starting from FY2026.

On the other hand, reducing its reliance on low-speed electric two-wheeler category, the company also introduced a new high-speed e-scooter ‘Nemo’. Priced at INR 99,000 (ex-showroom), it comes with a 40 Ah NMC li-ion battery and a 1,500W DC brushless hub motor that gives it a max speed of 65 kmph. It has a claimed range of 130 km on a single charge in Eco mode. The e-scooter uses a digital speedometer, 5-inch full-colour TF display and projector LED headlight. The company has targeted a modest 2,000 units sales for Nemo in the next three months.

The EV maker currently has an installed capacity to produce 73,000 electric two-wheelers, 7,300 L5 electric three-wheelers and 18,250 L3 electric three-wheelers per annum. The company claims that apart from some plastic components and cells being imported, everything has been localised.

It further aims to start manufacturing its own batteries in the next one year in Vadodara, for which the pilots are underway.

Ahmedabad-based electric mobility start-up Matter was recently awarded the 10th CII Industrial IP Award 2024 at the CII Annual Summit on Technology, Intellectual Property, and Industry-Academia Partnership, held on 12th and 13th December in New Delhi.

The recognition was on the back of the company’s robust portfolio of over 300 patent applications and 58 granted patents in areas such as powertrain cooling, gearbox technologies, charging infrastructure, and manufacturing automation.

The EV maker is the first to launch a geared e-motorcycle called ‘Aera’, which it expects will play a key role in driving higher adoption of green vehicles in the motorcycle space.

Kumar Prasad, Founder and CTO, Matter, said, "Innovation has always been at the heart of Matter’s vision. This award reaffirms our commitment to redefining the electric mobility sector with pioneering research and development. We are proud to contribute to India’s vibrant IP ecosystem and continue driving technological advancements for a sustainable future."