EXCLUSIVE: “The E-Luna Can Not Only Be A Personal Mobility Vehicle But Also A Business Partner”

Recently, we had the chance to talk to Sulajja Firodia Motwani, CEO of Kinetic Green, about the return of the iconic Luna nameplate with the Kinetic E-Luna’s launch, the thought process behind its development and its potential impact on the customers. We also discussed the current state of FAME subsidies in India and a possible future roadmap to not needing it after a few years, the future of battery swapping in India, the EV maker’s dealer network in the country and much more.

The Potential Impact Of The Kinetic E-Luna On The Masses

When asked about the main criteria that was taken into consideration when developing the Kinetic E-Luna, Ms. Motwani said that the electric moped had to be an MUV (Multi-Utility Vehicle), something that can be used for personal use as well as a livelihood product. Something that is versatile and convenient like a ‘chalta-firta dukan’. Further expanding on how the electric moped could have a good impact on a large demographic of customers, she said, “Demographically it can go into tier 2, tier 3 towns. And that's what differentiates it. If you look at all the other EVs, they're all made with the larger cities in mind, in terms of the ground clearance, lots of plastics, and focus on technology. But E-Luna is truly an EV that's made for all cities and all road conditions.” 

She also added, “The E-Luna can be easily used for livelihood, for delivery, like a plumber, or electrician, or a pundit, or like a pujari. One of our customers came to visit me at the office saying I bought this eLuna from you. I was only able to travel by a bus, and I could do only two pujas a day, now I can do five pujas a day, and I have no worries of deficit. So, it is also a part of progress for an aspiring India. You know, that's the unique concept of E-Luna. And not only having this vehicle as a personal mobility vehicle, but also as a business partner.”

Her Opinions About FAME 2 Ending and The Future Scenario Of Subsidies

Regarding the FAME 2 subsidies going away and whether it is required for at least the next few years or if India can function without it, she did acknowledge the importance of FAME 2 subsidies so far in generating interest in EVs, the need for it to continue for at least the next few years while at the same time the need for EV makers to focus on more technological innovation so that the vehicle’s prices come down. 

Ms. Motwani said, “I would like to say that the FAME scheme has been quite instrumental in generating demand in the country for EVs because it has helped to reduce the upfront price differential between EV and us. In this transition phase, FAME has helped to bridge that price gap and therefore it has got more and more people interested in buying electric 2 and 3 wheelers. I'm telling you that for the first 5 years we had to really go out there and find customers. It was a push market trying to promote the concept but in the last 2 years because of fame it has changed to where customers are coming into showrooms and asking about EVs.” She further added that currently, EVs only have a 5-6% penetration in the market and for the industry to become self-sustainable, about 25% of market penetration is required because only then the scale of the overall ecosystem will allow the prices of the batteries and other components will come down and investments will be spread over a much larger volume. 

For the industry to reach that stage, Ms. Motwani said that demand generation should keep on continuing at a rapid pace. And having FAME subsidies for demand generation for at least the next few years is crucial. She added that Kinetic Green, along with other EV makers, have been in talks with the government for FAME 3 subsidies and that there is a high possibility of them coming into effect. At the same, though, she said, “We are not building our business model to be dependent on subsidies. We are focusing on making the products and technology accessible and affordable even in a period where subsidies may be tapered down and go away. So we are working aggressively on ensuring that we bring that kind of value for money approach to the technology.”

Future Of Battery Swapping In India

While discussing the technicalities of the Kinetic E-Luna, Ms. Motwani said that the battery is swappable and that the EV maker is going to be working with a couple of swapping partners to incorporate their solutions in the moped. When asked whether 5 years down the line, customers would prefer to swap batteries or charge at home, she said, “So, I feel that swapping is a very good solution and one more thing is that Luna is very well designed also for the gig economy. Swapping is like a big basket. So, it is very well designed for the gig economy, for Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket, Swiggy, Zepto because the driver is not carrying the load on his back like he is doing on a current vehicle. So, I believe that swapping will come up very rapidly as a solution for the gig economy, you know, the B2B applications where you have the depots where people can come back to swap, right? And it is already evolving that way.” 

In a B2C scenario, for retail customers, she said that the swapping ecosystem needs to evolve. Swapping stations and penetration should be available in a 2km x 2km grid like petrol pumps. So, it is currently much easier to implement in the B2B scenario. She also added that “But for B2C, unless some big daddy comes, you know, like IOCL or BPCL or Reliance or, you know, something like that who already has a large infrastructure which can be put to use for swapping stations, then only it will get picked up in B2C.”

Battery As A Subscription And Battery Financing

While talking about battery swapping, Ms. Motawni mentioned that an alternative to battery swapping in the B2C space could be making batteries available on a subscription basis. She said, “We are working on the option of battery as a subscription where, you know, the customer does not have to come to the swapping station but we provide them the battery as a subscription financially. So, they pay for the vehicle up front and therefore the vehicle is much more affordable, very affordable in fact. And the battery is paid as a fuel on a per use, pay per use basis on a subscription basis. So, we are working on this concept of BAS, Battery As a Subscription, where without having to wait for the swapping, swapping station, infrastructure coming up, we can provide the convenience of this thing by providing battery on a financing plan like we have a mobile with the SIM on the plan on pay per use. That is something that we are working on.”   

Kinetic Green’s Dealer Network For The E-Luna

When we asked Ms. Motwani about the EV maker’s dealer network and their future plans, she said that currently they have a network of 500 dealers out of which 350 of them are for two-wheelers and 150 of them are for three-wheelers. She added, “So, the E-Luna will be there at all the 350 2-wheeler dealers and after 7th of February, when we are having the national launch,  it will be available at all the dealerships and with E-Luna coming, we will also be further expanding our dealer network and there is a plan to reach about 1000 dealers in the next 3 years for 2-wheelers.”

Purchase Channels - Online Or Offline?

We asked Ms. Motwani about whether they’ll be working more on an online purchasing channel than an offline one and she said that they are going to do both. That there’ll be a physical channel layered with a digital one and a complete digital fulfillment option as well. She said, “So first of all, there will be emphasis on physical dealerships, sub dealerships, you know. We'll be present across tier 2, tier 3 towns, go into rural markets and provide service, spare parts, financing, everything. That's important according to me. But beyond that, we are building digital capabilities at two levels. One is, of course, our own digital fulfillment channel. So customers, in fact, when bookings are opening on January 26th, you can come on our website and you can do the complete booking process. And then it will be delivered to you through the dealers physically. Right. And then secondly, it will also be available on Amazon and Flipkart as well. So there will be a digital layer, but it will be based on a physical infrastructure. We will have the physical fulfillment capabilities from day one and add the digital.”

So, the iconic Luna has completed the comeback with the Kinetic E-Luna being launched with a starting price tag of Rs 69,990 (ex-showroom Delhi). It is available in two variants: X1 and X2 and gets 1.7kWh and 2kWh capacity batteries respectively.