MC Exclusive: Revolt Motors plans Made-in-India e-motorcycles for worldwide markets

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Revolt Motors, the first homegrown startup to venture into the electric motorcycle segment, is drawing up plans to export vehicles under its new management. This was revealed by Anjali Rattan Nashier, Business Chairperson, RattanIndia Enterprises, which took over the Gurgaon-based EV startup in January for an undisclosed sum.

RattanIndia already hired a dedicated team for international markets. While the majority of the company’s focus will remain on the domestic market, it has garnered quite a few enquiries for its battery-powered motorcycles in Latin America, the ASEAN region, as well African and European markets.

“We are starting deliveries outside India very soon and will begin with Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. We have received enquiries for our product from Africa, Latin America and India lookalike markets. In the long term, we expect exports to account for 30 percent of total sales,” said Nashier, in an exclusive interaction with Moneycontrol.

With this move, Revolt will become the first such two-wheeler manufacturer to sell an electric motorcycle built in India for global markets. Internal combustion engine vehicle makers such as Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor Company, Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India (HMSI), Bajaj Auto and Yamaha India, etc., make sizeable shipments of their petrol-driven motorcycles to overseas markets.

Asked about the rationale for the overseas ambitions, Nashier said, “Many of the countries that I had mentioned are already selling electric scooters but don’t have (electric) bikes. So, I have an advantage in taking my bike internationally. Also, once you start selling in small batches, there will be a demand created for electric motorcycles.” As for selling products in evolved markets such as the US, Europe or Japan, she maintained, “Plans are definitely there but I cannot declare where exactly I am going. We are working on the costing of that country in the whole ecosystem.”

Currently, Revolt Motors sells the RV400, which is Rs. 1.24 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) and has a claimed range of 150 km per charge. Available in a single variant, it is equipped with a 3.24 KWh battery, which takes 4.5 Hours to get fully charged. The lower-spec version RV300 was phased out last year.

Taking over the reins

Last year, Rattan India Enterprises had announced that it would acquire a 100 percent stake in electric motorcycle maker Revolt Motors.  More than a year before that, in April 2021, the flagship company of the Rattan India Group had announced that it was investing Rs 150 crore in the e-motorcycle maker, founded by mobile handset maker Micromax’s co-founder Rahul Sharma, for a 43 percent stake in the company. With the recent takeover, Rattan India also gets a readymade facility at Manesar, which has an installed capacity of 120,000 units per annum.

“We are sitting on a 10,000-unit orderbook which we need to deliver. But we would still like to gain a toehold in overseas markets and once (e-motorcycle) volumes pick up there, we will expand aggressively,” added Nashier.

While Revolt is looking to completely utilise the existing Manesar facility in the current financial year, it is looking at setting up two gigafactories in the medium term that will have a combined output of 30 lakh units per annum. The company, however, didn’t share either the fundraising or investment plans for the new facilities.

Expansion plans

Revolt Motors’ current production at Manesar is 7,000 units per month which is expandable to 10,000 units a month. The next factory will be either at Manesar (in Haryana) or Bhiwadi (in Rajasthan), with a larger production capacity, and come on stream by next fiscal year.  Thereafter, it will set up a facility in South India as part of the next phase of expansion.”

Talking about the expansion plans, Nashier revealed, “There is pent-up demand from both northern and southern parts of the country. Hence, we want to have a facility in both the regions to cater to the demand there. The production lines will be automated and the output will be flexible, as per market demand.”

However, she maintained, once the second and third facilities were established, it could shut down the existing plant at Manesar, which was established by the previous management, under Sharma.

Revolt, citing a Deloitte report, states that E2W are estimated to account for 80 percent of the total two-wheeler market (including ICE vehicles) by 2030. The Indian EV market, valued at $3 billion in 2022, is expected to grow to $114 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 67 percent, said Rattan India, citing the same report.

It may be recalled that Revolt Motors was founded by Rahul Sharma in 2017 and commenced sales in 2019. As per data available on Vahan, the company sold 480 units in 2019 (October, November and December), 2,098 units in 2020, 4,704 units in 2021 and 14,915 units in 2022. This year, it has sold 1,329 units.

Sub-Rs 1 lakh e-motorcycle planned

While the company is planning to expand output of the RV400, plans are also afoot to launch a product that will be slotted below it and priced under Rs 1 lakh. There will also be another e-bike positioned above the RV400 and priced at around Rs. 2.5 lakh.

Talking about the product line, Nashier said, “While we intend to remain a motorcycle specialist, we will not rely on a single product.  Our upcoming e-motorcycle, which will be positioned below the RV400, will look to disrupt the 100-125cc segment. There will also be a variant for delivery boys who want to ride on motorcycles rather than on scooters.”

It was recently reported by Moneycontrol that Gujarat-based startup Matter is also working on an electric model to take on 100-125cc commuter bikes.

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), motorcycles with engine capacity above 75cc but less than or equal to 125cc saw a minor  increase in sales volumes  in the domestic market to 47,61,791 units during the April-February FY23 period from 45,58,268 units during the corresponding period a year earlier.

For motorcycles with engine capacities above 110cc but less than or equal to 125cc, the numbers went up to 25,31,162 units during April-January FY23 from 20,00,311 units in the same period last year.

In February, sales of commuter segment motorbikes more than 75cc but less than 100cc went up from 3,39,206 units to 3,78,586 units. In the more than 100cc but less than 125cc segment, sales went down from 1,71,171 units to 1,47,348 units.