Murugappa group plans to roll out e-bikes in October

Hyderabad: The Rs 9,600-crore diversified Murugappa Group is gearing up to roll out about five electric bikes in October and is firming up dealerships in south India.

The company plans to follow the launch of the bikes with higher capacity ones, Mr K.B. Srinivasan, General Manager, BSA Motors, part of the Murugappa Group, said.

Mr Srinivasan said that the company, which markets bicycles under the brand name BSA, has diversified into manufacturing electric bikes, developed by a combination of in-house technology and know-how from Taiwanese and Korean companies.

The company has invested about Rs 20 crore in R&D and has customised them for Indian conditions. It is also in talks with local dealers to help set up charging centres in markets where the bikes are expected to be rolled out, he said.

Three of the five bikes to be launched do not require licence to ride them. The launch will be followed by some more models with higher capacity. The first lot, to be marketed in the southern States initially, will be priced in the range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 35,000, he said.

The running cost of the environment-friendly bikes, targeted at women, children, the elderly and environmentally conscious people, will be about a third of the conventional scooters and motorcycles. The only major consumable will be battery, which requires changing after about 20,000 km.

Battery costs about Rs 6,000 and is now procured from Taiwan and Korea but some manufacturers in India are considering manufacturing them locally, he said.