Eco- motives

Electronic bikes,popularly known as the E-Bikes,have been around for sometime now in the Indian markets but have failed to garner any noticeable attention from the city junta. “One needs to spend at least Rs 8000 to Rs 10000 for servicing the batteries every 12 months which is unsuitable for the common man’s pocket,” explains Nandan Mavinkurve,who is the co-partner of Eko Vehicles,Pune a firm that sells these bikes. In fact,an Eko e-bike costs around Rs 35,000 to 40,000 that creates further doubts in customers’ mind regarding its reliability. “Albeit these are zero-polluted and eco-friendly bikes,the State Government (Maharashtra) doesn’t provide any subsidy for reducing the cost of the vehicle,” adds Mavinkurve.

Stressing on to this issue further,Arco Automobiles Consultant,Mohan Kulkarni states that due to apprehensions about this new concept,the impact was lessened. According to him even though Arco Automobile is one of the first dealers of YO Bykes in Pune. Since its inception in 2006 it has only managed to sell 3,000 bikes till now. “I believe the charging duration of the batteries is a vital cause for its poor purchasing outlook,” Kulkarni says. He also adds that it takes six to eight hours before the batteries are fully charged; which is a definite deterrent for a customer who wishes to buy it. “According to the conditions granted,the YO Smart (one of the models) should not exceed the speed limit of 25 kms per hour,” says Kulkarni.

Interestingly,the owners of vehicles like the YO Bykes have mixed reactions. “Earlier I had a YO Smart model,which I upgraded to the new YO Xplore. I feel that not only is the bike very comfortable,but it also has a very low maintenance figure,” says 64-year-old SV Joshi. However,Mayuresh Sovani,owner of CMS Computers,Pune,has a diametrically opposing viewpoint to that as he says,“While the bike is pollution and vibration free,it has some drawbacks too. For instance it is very hard to maneuver these bikes on the flyovers and on ghats.”

The scenario of these vehicles trying to find a full-fledged market is not limited to the two-wheeler section only. Jhumkee Iyengar,a product consultant designer,who owns a Reva E-car says,“It’s an excellent car and I haven’t had many problems in the last five years. Rather,the car runs smoothly on nasty roads as well as on the highways. The only drawback being that it is a little expensive.” Reva,which was India’s first Electric Car,launched in 2001,has also been subject to reviews ranging right from those that proclaimed it to be the next big thing in the automobile industry to those which have sidelined the car.

“Its zero fuel consumption characteristic attracts the youth the most. We can’t ignore the depleting fuel levels as we are already seeing an abrupt hike in the fuel prices. So it is the right time for switching over to cars like these,” says Manish Dhar a services and sales engineer. However on a contradictory note,Hiren Dadani a 23-year-old design engineer says,“Despite their sound features,the low speed of these vehicles relegates their importance. For youth it’s all about speed,which we cannot achieve in e-bikes.”