Make In India Has Been A True Flagship For Govt: Ashwin Bhandari, iVOOMi Energy
BW Auto World spoke to Ashwin Bhandari, Co-Founder and CEO, iVOOMi Energy about the company's growth after the pandemic, the products and materials and the future of EVs in India. Here's what he said -
How has your journey been after the pandemic? Are you making the profit that you expected from the products?
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented disruption to the normal operating procedures in every sector. Similarly, we have also seen extreme uncertainty and unpredictability in the initial days of the pandemic. However, we have recently found dynamic consumer patterns and changes in the overall consumer market again. Initially, we saw a better acceptance of digital and web-based solutions, but now there is a shift to physical retail, where consumers have again started to move out and experience the product before making their buying decisions.
Moreover, the businesses experience extreme uncertainty. With a complete slump initially and then gradually the market picked up at a faster pace. The pandemic has brought importance to health in every sense: environment, lifestyle, interest and understanding towards contribution to society. With such changes, we believe in creating a cost-effective and sustainable market keeping the green mobility in focus in order to promote a better environment and health. Contrary to popular thinking, India has become a new hub for electric automobiles. The country has taken a paradigm shift towards pollution-free products. Although it has been delayed because of the epidemic, the necessity of a healthy and pollution-free planet will undoubtedly help to cover up a faster shift than planned from an aging market.
The government is focusing on the indigenous production of goods. What percentage of indigenous materials are you using in your products? How sustainable are your products?
Make in India has been a true flagship for the government, and the push towards indigenous products has been increasing continuously. Of course, this is good for the overall economy and is a matter of pride when products made in India are used around the world. We have been committed to the Make in India campaign. Contributing to the same, we started manufacturing EV batteries in India in Q2 of FY 21–22. Further to that, we started developing and engineering our flagship models, Jeet and Jeet X, in 2021. Today, we are more than happy to announce that Jeet X is 100 per cent made in India, and we expect the product to get certified under the FAME 2 scheme soon.
We anticipate that as people become more aware of electric vehicles, the market will pick up and continue to develop. The Niti Ayog proposal to consider banning gasoline-powered two-wheelers by 2025 and local government initiatives like holding the issuance of gasoline-powered two-wheelers in Chandigarh indicate that the demand for products made in India will definitely grow. We believe that our contribution to developing and improving the products will inspire the whole industry to take a step forward toward sustainability.
What is your new campaign 'Badalte Bharat Ka Naya Chehra’, and how is it going to benefit the public?
Badalte Bharat ka Naya Chehra is here with innovative engineering. Under this, we are offering distinct features such as real riding range, comfort in riding, and comparisons between torque versus speed and units taken to charge a battery. These are the points where mechanical and electrical expertise come into play. We, as an innovative brand, offer features that really add value to the consumer's life at an extremely affordable price with easy buying options.
What is the future of EVs in India, and how will that impact your company?
We believe that electric vehicles are the future of automobility. Whether it is a two-wheeler, four-wheeler, or commercial mobility the world is in the midst of a green revolution, with India being a hub for groundbreaking innovations and evolving sustainable energy.
It's an extremely bright and exciting future for EVs in India. For engineering and tech enthusiasts like iVOOMi, it's a golden opportunity to not only contribute to the revolution but also become a pioneer in giving people what they want at the most affordable prices. iVOOMi is very well aware of the negative environmental impacts and hence thinks that it is a favorable time for electric vehicles; in fact, it is the need of the hour. Because electric vehicles have no exhaust emissions, driving one can help people reduce their carbon footprints, which consequently leads to a better life and place for all of us to live.
As the industry matures and acceptance of electric vehicles increases, it will eventually contribute to the overall development of our brand and allow us to serve people with more such initiatives like Badalte Bharat ka Naya Chehra.
Are you collaborating with any company that is providing charging infrastructure to help your customers?
We are working on battery swapping and have been remotely working towards the development & deployment of the technology. We are at the final stage of complete technology development, with our next version of the battery being one of its kind. All the announcements will be made in due course as we are planning to release the same by Q3 of the next financial year.
What kinds of trends have you observed in 2022, and what are you aiming for and expecting in 2023?
The market is changing rapidly. Initially, it started with just a product that could operate on electrical power between 2017 and 2020.By the end of 2020, the demand for a higher range (distance per charge) picked up, when 100 KM per charge became common. Now, we aim at the products that can go up to 240 KM per charge. With the same, reliability and safety becomes the next big thing on carts for the market as we have seen a lot of focus across the industry and agencies on the same over the last 12 months. We are seeing the interest increasing in cutting edge technologies and hence we at iVOOMi are developing the same in India for our consumers.
