Ultraviolette's roadmap to a ₹1000Cr brand 🏍
Is it similar to KTM's success story?
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While Ather Energy & Ola Electric are going after mass-market 2-wheeler consumers, a Bengaluru startup is trying to launch a ₹3.8 Lakh electric sports bike - can this be another KTM-like success story? 👇
By 2030, the Indian government wants electric two-wheelers new sales to account for 60 to 70 per cent of new 2 wheelers purchased. This is audacious from a manufacturing standpoint, solving the huge energy demand and covering major geographies with charging infra.
But thanks to subsidies like FAME, electric vehicle sales numbers have been picking up. Between 2014 - 15, only around 2000 vehicles were sold. Whereas between 2023 - 24, around 12 lakh e-vehicles were sold across India 🤯
But, this market won't just increase in the economical 2-wheeler EV sector. It will spread into premium and ultra-expensive segments. Ultraviolette Automotive is a great example of it 👇🏻
It's a small automobile company with two EV models - F77 & F99. The F77 is their first production model that is priced at ₹3.8 lakh (ex-showroom) & can go as high as ₹5.6 lakh with all features.
But there is a bigger opportunity here ✨
1/ Supreme power delivery 🚀
EV tech allows for non-linear power to these sports bikes. Just look up the torque numbers - 26 NM for a classic Kawasaki Ninja vs 100 for the F77. That's a 40 bhp for the EV sports bike 🚀
2/ Top in class performance 🏍
Plus, fewer vibrations and better heat transfer mean lower energy consumption per km driven & extremely good manoeuvrability. This is going to become a 2 wheeler top sports bike riders are going to aspire for. Plus the ~4L price point makes it even more aspirational.
So how big can this be? 🤯
If you check KTM sales numbers for 2023 - it sold ~53,000 bikes with an average selling price of ~₹2.5L. That's ₹1,325 Crore annual net sales.
Sure, the higher pricing will reduce the total addressable market in the shorter term but the real differentiator to pay that premium happens as you take the test ride of an F77 vs a KTM.
Let me do this - Here is the running sound of an F77. Do give it a listen - it’s mind-blowing 👇🏻
3/ Focus on international expansion ✈️
KTM exports ~4,000 bikes every single month. That's doubling the market size just by exporting. Ultraviolette Automotive can sell to South East Asia where peer competition is negligible and most markets haven't matured enough - first to enter the market could become a huge advantage.
The biggest risk though 🚨
Considering these sports EVs will be used for long rides and remote terrains, the availability of charging infra becomes extremely important. If the charging infra doesn't become omnipresent - it will be terrible for the business as it will take a much longer time to get to any substantial scale & will have to keep raising money to improve product offerings and just sustain.
I'm bullish on this segment - we are going to see a lot more companies in this segment and the only stakeholder who is going to be spoilt for choice is the retail consumer.
That's all for now 🪄
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