In 2016, when automobile enthusiast and serial entrepreneur Sathya Yalamanchili explored options for an electric vehicle (EV), he couldn’t find a suitable one. That’s when the adventurous act of converting his existing car Alto by retrofitting its entire power train with an electric variant and the idea of taking it to masses hit him.
Emboldened by the performance of his electrified Alto, he founded e-Trio a year later, which now offers two types of products: EV kits for four-wheelers and e-bikes. Further, it plans to go for e-tricycles.
Incidentally, e-Trio is the country’s first certified EV retrofitting start-up. It has so far retrofitted about 75 vehicles. The kits undergo rigorous scrutiny by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) for safety and performance standards and the retrofit vehicles are given due certifications by the Regional Transport Office (RTO).
“Getting certification and RTO registration was among the foremost challenges for us. Since the concept of retrofitting with an entire EV power train was new and we were the first to seek them, we face difficulties,” said Yalamanchili. But thanks to the firm’s technology team and leadership, the in-house engineered EV conversion kits managed to get necessary approvals.
“Most of our clients are currently B2B, who realise the benefits of reduction of operational costs. Moreover, we have some prominent players in the market who are doing pilot exercises with our kits,” he said, adding that several precautionary measures have been incorporated in the kit from both electrical and mechanical perspective
“Our EV models are also an economical solution since they not only eliminate the loss individuals make in selling old cars or disposing them, but also benefit from the fact that there are no affordable EVs in the market yet offering similar range at the price points. The less than 90 paise per km answers the entire economic math,” he said.
The kits can be installed in both new and old vehicles. As for expansion, the start-up is planning to appoint franchise partners in metros and foray into other states. Similarly, it will also extend conversion kits to eight models including Innova, Indica, and Etios by 2020.