Ahmedabad-based Matter Energy has finally launched its e-motorcycle Aera, which was unveiled more than three months ago. To be available in four trim options—4000, 5000, 5000+ and 6000+—Aera is being positioned as the country’s first geared electric motorcycle.
While the Aera 5000 is priced at Rs 1,43,999, the 5000+ is priced at Rs 1,53,999 (pre-registration price and including FAME2 subsidies). The other two variants will be available in the subsequent phase.
The Aera will be offered with a claimed range of 125 km for all variants except 6000+, which will go up to 150 km on a single charge. The company has spent nearly Rs 100 crore on developing the product. While the bookings for this model will commence this month, deliveries are expected to begin around April-May this year.
Arun Pratap Singh, co-founder and COO, Matter, told Moneycontrol, “We are the first electric motorcycle manufacturer offering a manual gearbox, which allows the customer the user experience and convenience of a normal motorcycle. We are also offering ABS along with other connected features which are not being offered even in an ICE (internal combustion engine) motorcycle in the 125-180cc segment. So we are trying to give the experience of an ICE motorcycle. There were a lot of buyers who were looking for a high-speed bike with a lower running cost, we are giving that offering.”
Both the variants of Aera that will be made available in the first phase have a liquid-cooled, 5kWh battery pack with a peak power output of 10.5kW. The bikes will be taking on other electric motorcycles like Revolt RV400, Torq Kratos, etc.
When asked about the target group, Singh said, “We are looking to cater to buyers who are looking to go for 125-180cc motorbikes like the (Bajaj) Pulsar and (TVS) Apache. They are within the age bracket of 18-40 years and would be earning Rs 75,000 a month. Also, range anxiety is not a concern for them as they are riding up to 75 km a day.”
The first batch of the motorcycles will be assembled at Matter’s new facility at Changodar, Ahmedabad. Spread across 200,000 square feet, it has the capacity to churn out 60,000 units a year in the first phase which can be expanded up to 120,000 units in the next phase. Nearly 1,000 people will be employed at this facility in the first phase. The company is likely to set up a new facility once the existing one reaches full capacity.
When asked to share the sales target for the newly launched products, Singh stated, “We believe that with our kind of product with such features and prices, we should be able to make a dent in that kind of a market (of 125-180cc ICE bikes). So we should be able to sell 10,000-20,000 units per month or even more than that over a period of time. That is necessary if we want to be successful in a market where 2.2 crore units (of two-wheelers) are sold.
Matter also revealed that while it may diversify into the electric scooter segment in the medium term, e-motorcycles will account for the lion’s share of its total volumes. The Ahmedabad-based firm revealed that it is also working on electric motorcycles that are based on its UT and EXE concept bikes showcased at the Auto Expo and would be taking on 100-125cc ICE bikes. In the next five years, it also aims to be the market leader in electric two-wheelers.
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