EVage: Driving Innovation in Electric Commercial Vehicles
A bootstrapped company from Chandigarh, founded by enthusiasts is ready with its modular indigenously-built chassis, for future electric commercial vehicles in India. The company will be starting with its new goods carrier.
I wouldn’t blame you if you weren’t aware of EVage-Leading electric commercial vehicle manufacturer in India. I came across EVage on a social platform, was quite intrigued and within a few days was put through to the management. The electric commmercial vehicle company was conceptualised in 2014, is now ready with its first new product. Well, almost there if I can add that. Inderveer Singh, the founder, and CEO of technology, marketing at EVage motors is an auto enthusiast who has spent close to a decade working with the auto industry is quite passionate about EV mobility. He is supported by Pulkit Srivastava and Harnoor Kaur, who happen to be the co-founders, business. The team, based out of Chandigarh, says that the idea was to look at EVs the same way as one will in the aviation industry. This includes the use of lightweight materials, composite body panels and a modular structure.
EVage believes that the “Exoskeleton” they created will not only be robust is also lighter. Everything attached to this structure is also indigenously made including the gearbox, battery and so on. When EVage says that the Exoskeleton is modular, it means it can support a truck, delivery van, MPV or even an SUV. I happened to have a chat with both personnel on how EVage will disrupt the Indian electric vehicle scene and how exactly are they different from the others. Here is an excerpt of the conversation.
Express Drives (ED): How many investors are there in EVage
EVage: We at EVage are not chasing valuations and believe in businesses which can be trusted and have a clear business case, we wanted to create our product and then reach out to investors instead of raising money on Jpegs. We bootstrapped the company for five years throughout its initial R&D phase and reached out to strategic investors only when the product was out on the road running.
We are fortunate for great people who believed in our vision and are personally proud that they decided to join us in this journey of ours, some of them include Ola Electric co-founder and senior advisor Anand Shah, BryAir director Varun Pahwa, DMI Group partner Anmol Nayyar, ex-managing director, Fiat India Automobiles Pvt Ltd Dr Paolo Castagna, Ex-Paytm VP product and ex-founder Shifu (acquired by Paytm) Prashant Singh.
ED: When can we see the goods carrier from the EVage, the name, battery capacity and expected price?
EVage: You should expect to see our 1st 4W electric commercial vehicle later this year with a 20kWh, we will be able to share specific details then. We are focusing on ensuring that our mobility offering is affordable and create a product that meets and surpasses customer expectations.
ED: Will EVage be open to giving out the ‘Exoskeleton’ to other new EV makers?
EVage: The ‘Exoskeleton Structure’ has to be seamlessly integrated with the battery and motor architecture, which requires in-depth know-how and expertise to ensure the same. At this stage we are not actively looking however should an opportunity arise, we will definitely consider it on a case-to-case basis.
ED: Will EVage be interested in making an electric vehicle for India?
EVage: We at EVage are very conscious about the attention to detail and ensuring superior customer experience. It was a very conscious decision on our part to focus on the four-wheeler commercial segment as the entry barrier is quite high. The four-wheeler segment is not an easy business to get into as it is Capex heavy, but we have, over the years, built proprietary technology and deep expertise. In time, should there be a business case and opportunity we would definitely be open to exploring it further.
We are ready to showcase to the world our 1st commercial 4W electric vehicle we have built. By the end of 2020, we aim to start trial products.
ED: What are the plans for marketing the vehicle, warranty and aftersales?
EVage: Our customers have been visiting our factory and test riding the vehicle. Our first model has done over 120K kms on roads and are now getting ready for deployment. You should expect to see our 1st 4W commercial vehicle later this year, we will be able to share specific details then. We are focusing on ensuring that our mobility offering is affordable and we are working very hard to ensure cost efficiencies whilst elevating the performance and reliability of the vehicle.