TVS-backed Ultraviolette in talks with state governments for new facility as it broadens focus to affordable EV segment

In this interview with Moneycontrol, the founders share insights on affordability, brand positioning, supply chains, and competition in the EV space.

Edited excerpts:

Your previous models were positioned in the premium segment. With the latest launch priced significantly lower, is this shift linked to the festive season or part of a larger strategy?

Niraj Rajmohan: We’ve been working on this for close to a decade. When we first launched the F77, it was priced at Rs 3.8–4.55 lakh. Back then, while we had developed our own battery management system and vehicle control unit, many components were still outsourced. Over time, we’ve steadily pursued vertical integration, building our own motor controllers, charging systems, dash cam, cluster, and even radar technology in-house. This long-term effort has reduced our bill of materials and enabled us to control costs and IP.

So, the announcement isn’t just about the festive season. It’s about bringing our motorcycles closer to price parity with 350cc ICE bikes and offering a compelling alternative.

Would you say this is the first EV motorcycle to achieve price parity with ICE bikes?

Rajmohan: Yes, very much so. Even with the F77, parity in total cost of ownership was already evident—customers riding 20,000–80,000 km have recovered a significant portion of costs through fuel savings alone. Today, with this launch, we’ve managed upfront price parity too, which is a big deal.

What helped you to reach this level of affordability? Was vertical integration the main driver?

Rajmohan: Heavily, yes. From the beginning, we benchmarked ICE vehicles, breaking down their cost structures, mechanical parts, chassis, plastics, seats, brakes, etc.—and worked with the same supply chains in India. That gave us cost visibility.

The real challenge was the electronic subsystems, battery packs, motor controllers, vehicle control units, charging systems, ABS, radar. To compete, we set aggressive targets, which required building many of these systems in-house. It has taken us eight years, but this vertical integration is why we can launch this product today.

Will this new pricing philosophy be the norm for future Ultraviolette products?

Rajmohan: Very much so. You saw it even with our Tesseract scooter at Rs 1.45 lakh and Shockwave at Rs 1.75 lakh. The same philosophy applies, innovating not just in design and performance, but also in pricing and unit economics.

Ultraviolette has been known for premium, performance-driven bikes. Will lower-priced models change your brand positioning?

Rajmohan: Price is important in India, it drives accessibility. But affordability won’t come at the expense of performance or technology. The reason Ultraviolette exists is to accelerate innovation, so we’ll continue introducing cutting-edge features like radar, while ensuring we meet price expectations.

On the supply chain side, Ola is investing in cell manufacturing while others like Ather are not. Where do you stand on in-house battery cell production?

Rajmohan: Our approach is pragmatic. Tesla, for example, had to build cell factories because of supply shortages in 2010. But since then, global players, LG Chem, Samsung, Panasonic, CATL, have massively scaled production. Today, there’s oversupply and cell prices are dropping.

For us, it didn’t make sense to manufacture cells. Instead, we validated cells from eight different manufacturers across countries, commoditized them, and built flexibility to switch suppliers. This gives us the best pricing without being locked in, while ensuring stability in supply.

With rare-earth challenges affecting global EV players, how exposed is Ultraviolette ?

Rajmohan: Rare earths are not truly rare, but refining capacity is concentrated in a few countries. We’ve seen supply chain disruptions before, even in 2010, and they eventually stabilize.

Different technologies make sense for different use cases. High-performance applications need magnets, while lower-powered ones can rely on ferrite or induction motors. We’re flexible in design and use commoditized materials to reduce dependence.

Competition is heating up, Ola Electric and legacy players like Royal Enfield are entering EV motorcycles. How do you see the market shaping up?

Narayan Subramaniam: The ICE market is 60% motorcycles and ~30% scooters, but EV players have so far focused mostly on scooters. We believe EV adoption will balance out to a 50:50 split.

Our approach has been to solve the hardest problems first, high-performance motorcycles. This builds modular R&D blocks in battery safety, BMS, vehicle control, chargers, and motors. Once solved, it’s easier to scale downstream into mass-market products. That’s why you saw Tesseract scooters will outperform rivals on power and range, and today’s X-47 introduces onboard chargers and radar.

We don’t see this as competition yet, it’s more collaboration. More players will only grow the category, and India needs motorcycle electrification at scale.

How are you scaling manufacturing?

Subramaniam: Production for the X-40 series has already begun, with deliveries starting in a few days. Our current Electronic City plant is scalable up to 50,000 vehicles.

We’re adding new lines and running multiple shifts, while also exploring a larger facility with state governments for scooter production. It’s a modular approach, our vehicle and battery lines can flexibly handle both motorcycles and scooters.

What does your product roadmap look like?

Subramaniam: We’ve built platforms, not just products. Three platforms today, Performance platform, F77 evolving into X-47, Lightweight motorcycle platform with entry-level models like Shockwave and Scooter platform, Tesseract and its derivatives.

Over the next couple of years, you’ll see multiple products emerging from these three platforms

You have a diverse investor base including TVS, Vembu brothers, Qualcomm Ventures, and TDK. How independent are you, given TVS also has its own EV ambitions?

Subramaniam: We’re fully independent in R&D and strategy. While TVS is a proactive EV player, our alignment is philosophical, not operational. Our investor base is long-term focused, supporting deep tech and innovation in India.