Chennai: Electrical equipent manufacturing company RR Global marked its entry in to electric scooter segments thorugh its brand BGAUSS and has opened its first dealership in the Chennai. This marks the entry of electric scooters B8 and A2 models and its five produc variants for the EV customers in the city.
The company has started delivering of BGAUSS scooters to customers who had already pre-booked their scooters online, through the BGAUSS website.
In an interview with News Today BGAUSS founder and managing director Hemant Kabra speaks about the company’s venture and future plans.
Q: How did the idea of getting into electric vehicles come into the fore?
A: BGAUSS is a venture by RR Global which already has its firm roots when it comes to manufacturing motors, controllers, wire harness, DCDC’s and more. We believe entering into the electric vehicle pace is just a forward integration to the business. With BGAUSS, we have consciously moved towards the B2C space.
Q: How do you feel about the launch of the first dealership in Chennai and what are your expectations?
A: We are proud to bring BGAUSS dealership to Chennai. Our dealership is designed as a new-age interactive urban space giving customers first-hand experience of both the B8 and A2 models and its five variants. We truly believe that electric mobility will define the future of transport and our partnership with Vishal Kumar, Rinaya Motors India Pvt. Ltd. is a step towards making our electric scooters easily accessible and available to prospect customers in Chennai.
Q: How has the response for BGAUSS scooters been so far with the online bookings starting July 2020 and on-ground showrooms having opened in Oct?
A: We have received thousands of inquiries and a very positive response from prospect customers as well as dealers wanting to partner with us after announcing our product range and opening online bookings since 15 July, 2020. This month, we also started deliveries of BGAUSS scooters for our customers who had already pre-booked their scooters online, through the BGAUSS website.
Q: What makes the EVs by BGAUSS different from other existing players?
A: I believe due to our superior quality product, established brand name and value pricing will enable us to create a space in the market for ourselves.
Our capability of product understanding is another important aspect. We have developed our own motors, controllers, wire harness and other products and we have a certain technology advantage and grip as well which gives us a little edge over the others. We understand the India market and have successfully placed India in the world map through our cables and wire businesses.
Q: What are your expansion plans? How many BGAUSS showrooms will you open by this financial year end?
A:We have started with the Southern and Western region of India and identified key states where we want to start our distribution. We have further identified 108 cities within these states where we want to expand our presence. In terms of sales and service network of BGAUSS B8 and A2 models, we have opened our dealerships starting this October in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Panvel (Outskirts of Mumbai) and Chennai. Also, we are planning to open another five showrooms in more cities in the next 15 days. For this year, our plan is to have a presence across seven states – five in South and two in West. We hope to have 60-65 showrooms by the end of this year.
Q: What is the production capacity and where is the factory located? How much investment has gone into this facility and what are the plans for future investments?
A: We have set up our manufacturing facility at Chakan, Pune. The facility has a capacity of producing 80,000 bikes with area of 42,000 ft. approx. Over the next 3 years, we are planning to invest Rs 125 crore. We have also started working on 2 new designs here in India and these two products will be 100 per cent localised and made in India to be launched in 2021.
Q: Has Covid-19 affected the business of electric two-wheelers?
A: Two-wheeler segment will play a pivotal role in elevating the automobile sector post the lockdown by providing affordable personal mobility options. The post-COVID-19 scenario might see consumers move away from all forms of shared mobility to more personal forms of transport to safeguard themselves. We expect the EV segment growing at a faster pace due to the increase in awareness for the environment and towards cleaner technologies. In terms of COVID impacting our schedule, we are on point with our plans.