This Startup May Beat Honda In The Race To Introduce Battery-swapping Tech In India

[UPDATE: The Bounce Infinity E1 scooter has been launched in India at Rs 45,099 onwards. For more details about the pricing, specifications, availability and other details, read our launch story]

Bengaluru’s popular two-wheeler rental startup, Bounce, is set to introduce its first electric scooter later this month, with deliveries expected to begin by the first quarter of 2022.

Details are scarce right now, but the silhouette shared by the company hints at retro European styling. But the highlight of the new offering has to be its battery swapping tech. In an interaction with PTI, co-founder and CEO of the company, Vivekananda Hallekere, revealed interesting details.

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The new e-scooter will be offered in two variants, and you can buy it with or without the battery. Hallekere mentioned that the price could be as low as Rs 70,000, and without the battery, it could drop to Rs 50,000.

If you purchase the e-scooter without the battery, Bounce will offer the ‘battery as service’, allowing customers to simply swap the battery at the stations the brand will set up across the city. The standard variant with the battery will be equipped with a portable charger, which you can use to charge at home.

Bounce has ambitious plans with this e-scooter. The company has acquired 22Motors, including its manufacturing plant in Rajasthan with an annual production capacity of 1.8 lakh scooters. Bounce will be investing around $25 million in the plant and $50 million - $75 million in the battery swapping infrastructure.

Currently, Bounce has a vast network in Bengaluru and Vijayawada, with the former having 170 service points. The startup will utilise these as well as build new ones for its e-scooter charging network. It aims to sell the e-scooter online and through 200 dealers, eventually expanding to six cities like Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad.

Interestingly, Bounce has already signed an MoU with a Turkish brand to sell the e-scooter in Turkey and is already looking for partners in Latin America and Africa.

Last month, Honda announced its plans to set up battery-swapping stations across India and also confirmed the development of a new electric two-wheeler for the country. Now, it seems Bounce could beat the Japanese giant in the race to introduce battery-swapping tech in India.