Before our current global pandemic, India was already sitting pretty as the largest motorcycle market in the world. As 2020 rolls on, customers keep buying new motorcycles and scooters. It’s really not hard to understand why, either. If it’s an option for you as a means of transport, why wouldn’t you hop on a bike right now?
As new electrification deadlines approach, electric scooter startup Batt:RE sees this as an ideal time to get more people on its scooters. Based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, the company has been around since 2017. It offers both scooter models and e-bikes, and has a handy dealer locator on its website if you want to check its vehicles out in person.
Thing is, to get people on electric vehicles, you need a good infrastructure to instill confidence in people. Potential customers may be all for switching away from piston-powered vehicles, but if it’s too hard to reliably find a place to charge where they need it, it’s going to be a tough sell.
That’s why Batt:RE just introduced its RE:Charge Stations. The plan is to create a network of charging stations all across India—but make them peer-to-peer. Customers looking for a charge can locate the nearest RE:Charge station via an Android app. Regular people looking to earn a little extra income can purchase their own RE:Charge stations and then add them to the public network. Currently, Batt:RE plans to add at least 500 charging stations to the national network by March, 2021.
The chargers work with any electric vehicle, not just scooters and e-bikes bearing the Batt:RE badge. How it works is fairly simple. First, you download the Batt:RE app from the Google Play store. After you locate your nearest charger and arrive, you then scan the QR code on the charger to begin charging. Payments are processed via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India’s premier cashless payments system.
Incentivizing rollout of an electric charging network infrastructure is an interesting way to speed up the process. If you’re interested, purchasing your own RE:Charge Station starts at ₹2,400, or about $32.43 for a charging station without signage. The price with signage goes up to ₹3,000, or $40.53. The stations currently offered can only charge one vehicle at a time.
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Source: Batt:RE