Lohia Auto is gearing up for a larger role in the electric vehicle (EV) space which it feels is going to expand in a major way in the years to come.
“These are exciting times for the electric vehicle market, we feel a substantial number of customers will shift from gasoline to electric vehicles … our focus has been on three-wheelers, we will now go in for two-wheelers in this market,” said Ayush Lohia, the 40-year-old CEO of Lohia Auto, part of the Lohia Global group.
He believes that now with prices being set by rival Bajaj for its Chetak electric scooter, more players will foray into the market trying to better Bajaj either on the price or the features front.
“By 2023-25, we will really see the impact of the shift… the market is shaping up,” the young CEO who took on the reins of the automobile firm 11 years ago said.
Lohia already has e-scooties, three-wheeler e-rickshaws and a solar-powered e-rickshaw in its portfolio. However, his company is now working on launching two-wheeler e-scooters to take on the Chetak challenge, which could be done within a year’s time.
“Before that we will be launching another three-wheeler in August,” Lohia said.The company will also be looking at exports of its electric vehicles to the mature market of Europe and also the environmentally conscious market of Sri Lanka. The firm, despite being part of a traditional business house, was quite early in taking a policy decision to focus on the environmentally-conscious market of the future.
The decision, Lohia said, has paid off. The e-rickshaw market, for instance, has grown at 16 per cent annually and is expected to grow to one million units by 2025, according to studies.
Overall, the electric vehicle sales grew to 7.59 lakh in 2018-19 with electric three-wheelers accounting for 6.3 lakh.
“Any changes in the government policy on subsidies and pricing on raw materials will, of course, impact the three-vehicle industry … (but) we expect policies to only become friendlier given the government’s push towards e-vehicles,” he noted.
Aims to focus on exports
The company, which part of the Lohia Global group, will be looking at exports of its electric vehicles to the mature market of Europe and eco-conscious market of Sri Lanka