[Tech30] These young entrepreneurs aim to redefine fleet operations in India with their EV startup

Newer electric vehicle (EV) models and technological advancements are making EV ownership more attractive.

And its environmental impact cannot be downplayed either. This was why TresMoto was started, built upon a vision to make custom electric motorcycles.

The startup was founded back in 2017 by Shubham Jain and Indrajeet Rajpoot, both in their mid-twenties, when they saw EVs as a way to make a dent in the Indian automotive market. 

“The auto industry has failed to keep up with the IoT (Internet of Things) age and in times when even refrigerators and washing machines are getting smarter and more optimised by the day, it seemed as if the automotive sector was still stuck in the Jurassic era,” says Shubham.

So, the startup came with its offering targeted at fleet operators, hyperlocal logistics, bike rentals, ride-hailing services, campuses, and public transit points. High-powered, “purpose-built”, connected electric scooters are currently being made by the Bengaluru-based startup for fleet applications. Alongside, it also provides end-to-end shared mobility solutions like remote access hardware and fleet management dashboard.

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Building up

Shubham is an automotive engineer, a custom motorcycle builder, and a TedX speaker. He was also the proprietor at SJS Delhi, a private wholesaler company for automobiles.

Indrajeet was working with Bosch as a plant engineer. Interestingly, Indrajeet was Shubham's first hire at their previous business too at SJS. When Shubham wanted to set up TresMoto, Indrajeet came along for the ride as a co-founder.

The team has grown into an 18-member startup now.

Based in Bengaluru, TresMoto today has orders for a pilot batch of 500 units due for delivery in March 2020. The team is also building up on the orders and acquiring more clients for the coming batches, Shubham notes.  The manufacturing process will include in-house designed and developed drivetrains.

These scooters then would be sold to fleet operators. Alongside, there is a mandatory monthly subscription comprising AMC (Annual Maintenance Contract), extended warranty, insurance, and unlimited battery swaps.

“We will be selling our scooter, ‘TresMoto Mule’, at an average price of Rs 53,000. The monthly subscription is Rs 1,500 per month,” says Shubham.

The EV market

According to PS Market research, the Indian electric scooter and motorcycle market generated a revenue of $80 million in 2018, and it is expected to register a CAGR of 36 percent.

While there are many B2C EV startups in the market such as Ather Energy, Tork Motorcycles, Yulu, Orxa Energies, TresMoto competes with the likes of GoGreenBOV, and Hero Electric's B2B division.

Explaining more on the USP, Shubham says,

“Our products are purpose built for the Indian shared mobility market. We are not another me-too electric company importing and assembling kits. Our IoT hardware makes the scooters smarter than anything on today's roads with GPS tracking and alerts, remote lock, unlock and speed limiting, self-optimising drivetrains, according to the rider's habits, etc.” 

Additionally, Shubham claims the startup’s scooters are priced 40 percent lesser than other comparable electric options, owing to their “ground-breaking battery-as-a-service model where the user essentially never pays for owning the battery pack, because of the monthly subscription.

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Future plans

The team is expecting a revenue of Rs 2.5 crore after the pilot delivery. “We are planning to scale this to Rs 10 crore monthly by the end of FY 2020,” says Shubham.

The startup had previously received a fund of Rs 1.4 crore from Shell E4 during product development and Rs 2.5 crore from angel investors during testing, certification, and approval stage. TresMoto is however on the lookout for additional investment for further plans.

By 2021 Shubham and his team want to enter the consumer market after solving supply side problems for Tier I cities. “We want to start pilots in smaller markets too with our micro entrepreneurship model to enable the ‘real India’ with mobility and converting job seekers to employment providers,” says Shubham on the future plan of TresMoto.

The team has a plan to cover all major Tier I, Tier II and also Tier III towns in a rapid expansion phase over the next couple of years. 

(Edited by Evelyn Ratnakumar)

YourStory’s Tech30 companies list is an annual selection of 30 carefully curated and disruptive tech-based startups that we believe will shape the new narrative for India and the world. To get a complete overview of the 2019 Tech30 companies list, download the Tech30 Report here.

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