Our goal is to reach 200 showrooms this year and achieve monthly sales of 3,000 units,
Posted Date – 08:22 PM, Sat – 1/14/23
Source: franklinev.com
Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based electric scooter maker Franklin EV has plans to invest Rs 50 crore for expansion. It now has 54 dealers, a number that will grow to 200 this year.
The company’s two-acre Cherlapally factory is now producing 100 electric scooters per shift per day. It plans to double the capacity here. It now has about 110 employees, a number that will grow to 300 this year. It is currently exporting its models to Nepal, Bangladesh and Africa. “We plan to enter other countries,” said Dr. Shashidhar Kumar, founder of Franklin EV.
The company is in discussions with 30 entities for new franchises. “Our goal is to reach 200 showrooms this year and achieve sales of 3,000 units per month,” he said.
Its scooter, the Koro, comes in two models — single-battery and dual-battery. The dual-battery version has a range of 200 kilometers. It is priced at Rs 1.14 lakh. The single battery version is priced at Rs 81,450. Besides the Koro, it is also marketed in two models, the Power Plus and the Nix Dlx. By April this year, it plans to launch two more models with a range of 100 km, priced between Rs 65,000 and Rs 75,000 after FAME-II subsidies. Shashidhar said the company is the only company in South India that is producing electric scooters under the subsidy.
Sales of the Franklin EV will start in 2021 with operations in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. “Currently, our sales network spans 30 cities including Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. We have 14 showrooms in Hyderabad alone. After we started selling Acquired more than 6,000 customers in two years,” said Naveen Kumar, co-founder of Franklin EV.
Depending on the model, the Franklin EV uses 2.1-3 kW lithium-ion and lithium-phosphate batteries. It sources them from manufacturers such as New Energy Tech, EVE, and Molicell. The battery can be removed from the car for easy charging. The controller and charger are guaranteed for one year, the motor for two years, and the battery for three years.
“These two new models, which will be launched in April, will be built with locally manufactured components. For the Power Plus, Nix Dlx and Koro models, we achieved 70% localization,” said another co-founder, Ranjith Kumar.
