Pune-headquartered Kinetic Green Energy & Power Solutions has teamed up with China-based electric vehicle giant Aima Technology Group to co-design and develop electric two-wheelers for the rapidly growing domestic market.
Through this partnership, Kinetic plans to aggressively scale up the E2W business and build the capacity of 5-lakh units a year in the next two years, the company said.
Kinetic had launched its e-two-wheelers last year.
As part of the collaboration, Aima will assist Kinetic with design and support for modifications and rapid localisation of the models to suit Indian customer requirements.
The two partners plan to launch at least three new models in India in FY23, including models from Aima’s new advanced high-speed scooter platform.
Initially, the two-wheelers developed under the collaboration will be marketed under the Kinetic brand, the company said, adding the partners have explored launching co-branded models in the future, including bringing new global brands to India.
Within a year, Kinetic and Aima further plan to explore a joint venture where Kinetic will leverage its brand and production capabilities and Aima can leverage its technology, R&D and global outreach to expand massively, it noted.
The JV will help bring the respective might of the two players to develop and market a differentiated range of EVs with advanced technology to aggressively scale up the business to be a leading player in this fast-growing space, the company said.
After launching a range of electric three-wheelers in the country about four years ago, Kinetic Green entered the E2W market in 2021 and is aggressively building its presence in this segment to be one of India’s top E2W players, as per the company.
According to Kinetic, buoyed by increasing petrol prices on one hand and favourable government policies leading to reduced prices for electric vehicles and fast-evolving EV eco-system, the E2W segment is poised for rapid growth.
“Kinetic Green’s vision is to bring a wide range of advanced, innovative yet affordable electric vehicles to the Indian mass market. We are delighted to partner with the World’s largest and leading EV player, Aima, and are looking forward to working together with them,” said Sulajja Firodia Motwani, founder-CEO, Kinetic Green.
Together, the two partners will bring advanced EV technology to India, and create maximum social impact by bringing these innovative products within the reach of our large population, just like the impact made by its Kinetic Luna or Kinetic Honda earlier, she said.
“We are also committed to building a strong EV eco-system together, including local supply chain, and convenience of fast charging, battery swapping, long-range EVs to popularise this technology across the length and breadth of India,” Sulajja added.
The Shanghai Exchange-listed Aima has a global presence across 87 countries. With global sales of more than 50,000,000 E2W units, the company has over 1,000 models in its product portfolio, comprising E2W, E3W and E4W, as per a release.
Aima also leads the industry in technology development and R&D and is known for its investment in technology R&D with a key focus on design, 3D digital modelling, IoT and smart technology.
“We are pleased to join hands with Kinetic Green, as KG has proved themselves to be the pioneers in India’s automobile industry, with a good track record of Joint Venture with international brands,” said Su Yuhang, President, Aima Technology Group.
Aima has witnessed India’s great potential in green mobility, particularly in 2021, fuelled by FAME II incentive policies, and the year-on-year E2W growth of 631 per cent again showcased India’s resource endowment and competing advantage in the private transportation industry, he added.
“India will always be Aima’s strategic priority for global investment to cater for the need for green and smart mobility. Together, we believe that we can co-develop the first-class product for Indian customers, and through localisation, we can gain a competitive advantage and become the market-leading force,” Yuhang stated.