Greaves Cotton to expand electric 2-wheeler portfolio to build market share

Greaves Cotton Ltd plans to bring electric two-wheelers both in the mass and premium segments going forward as it looks to enhance market share in the domestic market, according to the company's Executive Vice Chairman Nagesh Basavanhalli.

The company, which is showcasing its new Ampere Primus high-speed B2C e-scooter along with five new product concepts, including Ampere NXG and Ampere NXU, at the ongoing Auto Expo 2023, plans to launch electric scooters above and below the Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh range where it currently sells its products.

Greaves Electric Mobility Pvt Ltd, the company's arm, has electric two-wheeler models Primus, Magnus EX and Reo Plus under the Ampere brand umbrella.

In an interview with PTI, Basavanhalli said when the company started the electric journey "several years ago", the annual revenue was about Rs 18 crore, which reached a quarterly revenue of Rs 320 crore in the last quarter.

"So our growth has been based on incrementally adding values and demonstrating that value proposition. For example, Magnus, the brand name, has sold more than 1,00,000 vehicles in the electric vehicles market. So the product is well established. Now what we're doing is in addition to Magnus, we are bringing in a refreshed zeal," he said.

Basavanhalli further said, "We were playing in that sweet spot of Rs 85,000 to Rs 1 lakh. Now the goal is through our products, we will move a little bit left with one or two value products more a little bit right with the incremental new generation products, which brings an incremental or newer customer base to us. So now the pie is being expanded."

The electric two-wheeler market in India has been growing and from around 2.5 lakh units annually last fiscal, it would touch about 7 lakh units in the ongoing financial year and is projected to be around 13 lakh next year, he added.

"We are a 13-14 per cent market share player," Basavanhalli said, adding, as the market size expands, the endeavor of the company would be how to continue to keep its market share, grow further and expand it.

In order to enhance its position in the electric mobility space, Greaves Cotton group has worked on becoming a one-stop-shop, not just selling electric vehicles but providing a complete ecosystem, including financing, after-sales service, and development of powertrain, motors and controllers, he added.

When asked about investments, he said the company is halfway through its committed capital of about Rs 1,500 crore on various activities, including bringing new products, adding capacity and brand building besides the acquisition of Ampere Vehicles three years back.

"So the near term visibility over the next two to three years, the money that we have allocated will be sufficient for some of those products," Basavanhalli added.

In terms of the company's production, he said, "We are ready to do a quarter million in one shift and half a million in two shifts. So I think in the near term, the capacity is more than sufficient.