ALTIGREEN Plans to scale up production to 40,000 units a year
Founded in 2013, the Bangalore based company started series production of its vehicles in Jan 2021. Their turnover in FY22 is expected to exceed INR 10 crores.
We spoke to the CEO and Co-founder Amitabh Saran on the way forward.
What is the current scale of operations at Altigreen in terms of manufacturing capacity and vehicle deployment?
The current manufacturing capacity is 6,000 vehicles per year with a team of 110 members. We have deployed around 200 electric 3-Wheelers on the Indian roads to date.
Can you discuss your product roadmap and focus areas going forward?
Responding to the opportunity that India’s EV industry presents, we will be working on our product portfolio with newer vehicle formats in passenger and cargo 3-Wheelers. 4-Wheeler cargo vehicle is also on the product roadmap. With the fresh investments, we will be ramping up our manufacturing capacity to 40,000 vehicles per year with an upgraded team size of 300+ members in FY 2023.
Do you plan to export as well?
Yes. With the cost of developing and operating EVs expected to decline substantially, India is likely to become a leading hub for manufacturing EVs and EV components. We will start exploring neighbouring countries in 2022, and our international foray will begin in 2023 at a larger volume.
To build a reliable product for commercial use, which parts/systems of the vehicle did you pay special attention to?
Altigreen uses all proprietary parts in its drivetrain, which are manufactured based on our patented designs. The components include traction motors, controllers, DC-DC converters, display clusters, high-speed gearboxes, battery packs and the entire software stack (MCU/VCU). All components are individually ARAI approved and adhere to IP standards for dust and water ingress and EMI/EMC for emissions. Further, we have made innovations in the vehicle suspension both front and rear, closed cargo container, wheels and brakes.
We own over 26 global patents including 6 in the US, as well as others in Europe, Australia, South Asia and Africa.
Do you plan to make your drivetrain components available to other OEMs?
As we are an OEM ourselves, we are not considering offering our drivetrain components to other EV manufacturers.
In terms of ‘Total cost of ownership’ – how does Altigreen’s current L5 vehicle compare with ICE equivalents?
Compared to a diesel 3W of similar capacity, the TCO benefits in neEV are over 47%, including a battery change in the 4th year. The TCO will further improve with newer battery chemistries at lower costs or the old battery being reused.
What are some of the performance-related challenges of earlier electric vehicles in the L3/L5 segment that you have been able to overcome?
Based on the needs of the last-mile delivery segment, Altigreen forged a new L5 cargo vehicle named ‘neEV’ in overcoming common E-3Wheeler challenges compared to its diesel alternatives. Some metrics are as follows:
- Last-mile distribution has moved from tonnage to volumetric capacity. This is why most deliveries are done in small commercial 4Ws since 3Ws typically fall in the 110-140 cu ft category. neEV provides the volumetric load capacity of 177 cu ft.
- Longest range on a single charge (ARAI tested for 181km)
- Highest top speed of 53 kmph and 220 mm ground clearance
- Full charge in under 4 hours from any 220V/16A socket (faster 3000W charger)
The company recently raised INR 300 crores in Series A round led by Sixth Sense Ventures, along with Reliance New Energy, Xponentia Capital, Accurant International, USA and Momentum Venture Capital, Singapore. Read the full article here.
This interview was originally published in EVReporter March 2022 Magazine that can be accessed here.
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Nice post. Increasing EV adoption is a great opportunity for EV manufacturers. Electric revolution is growing rapidly worldwide. Leading electric bikes and scooter manufacturer AMO Mobility is also working relentlessly towards converting e-mobility into mass mobility.