Gurugram based start-up introduces extended warranty on electric vehicles

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At EVreporter, we seek to highlight different businesses that are working towards strengthening the Electric Vehicles ecosystem in the country.

One area of interest is Risk Management through extended warranties on the electric vehicles that can help end-customers build more confidence in their purchases and the EV OEMs manage risk associated with different powertrain components sourced from third parties. 

Extended Warranty on Electric Vehicles

Mad About Wheels is a Gurugram based start-up that provides brand-agnostic EV Warranty solutions for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers. Alongside, the start-up is also designing similar products for companies in the logistics space that are using electric vehicles for making last-mile deliveries. Amresh Khar – Founder of Mad About Wheels has worked in the auto industry for around 17 years and wants to use that experience to lend support to the budding EV ecosystem in the country. 

Launched in 2019, Mad About Wheels has already partnered with a couple of electric two-wheelers and logistics companies and looks to provide its services to more EV players in the coming months.

Talking about their Extended Warranty Solutions for Electric Vehicles, Amresh shares – “We work with the automakers to design customised warranty products that can be between 6 months to 3 years or per km based, and can be extended to the end customer from the day of the sale or the day one of the operations, as the case may be”.

Also Read: Customised financing models for electric 3Ws

Value for OEM

The warranty applies to the powertrain components of the vehicle, e.g. Motor, Battery, Controller and DC-DC converter, which can be extended to more electrical components as per customisation for the brand. Generally, these components are sourced from external suppliers by the OEM. Having a third-party warranty system in place enables the OEM to methodically manage the risk associated with failure of components.

The start-up also helps the OEMs manage complete vehicle servicing operations for customers through a backend integration of its software solution including claim management.

Value for EV Buyer

The arrangement for the extended warranty (on top of the manufacturer’s warranty) is managed through a contract between the OEM and Mad About Wheels, without any additional charges for the customer. The end customer gets the extended warranty included as an offering from the OEM at the time of purchase.

Batteries make up for lion’s share of the cost of the electric vehicle. For two-wheelers and three-wheelers, Lead-acid battery makers extend warranties from 6 months to 1 year whereas costlier and better Lithium-ion batteries are protected under warranty from 2-3 years. For EV buyers, the risk associated with Li-ion battery replacement expense can be covered over a period of up to 5 years through a longer period warranty over of the lifetime of the vehicle.

ICE vehicles have access to strong service infrastructure (both official and informal) built over the years. However, in the case of an EV, buyers might be pressed to look hard for options in the absence of ubiquitous service infrastructure. An included extended warranty can help minimise the barriers associated with buying an EV to a large extent, knowing that any damages to the components will be covered under the warranty.

What happens in the case of a breakdown

If a customer suffers a breakdown of any powertrain component, they can simply visit the authorised service point and avail cashless service at the facility through the period of extended warranty.

“We are mapping our backend service workshops and current manufacturing companies workshops as Authorised Service Points. All the approvals and warranty punching are on provided tech interfaces and very friendly for brands or their dealerships”, informs Amresh.

Also Read: Guide to homologation of electric 2W and 3W in India