A co-owner of Ahmedabad-based Trio Elevators has ventured into electric vehicle segment with an indigenous e-motorcycle that can travel a maximum of 180 km on a single charge. “The electric motorcycles are being manufactured at a newly-built unit at Kadi-Thol road, located about 10 km from the manufacturing unit of Trio Elevators. 

Though I am one of the promoters of Trio Elevators, this electric motorcycles manufacturing is my family business,” said Chirag Patel, managing director of ABZO Motors, the brand under which the e-motorcycles are being sold between Rs 1.8 lakh to Rs 2.22 lakh. “Building elevators is tougher that building e-motorcycles. We had confidence and the technical expertise and decided to build a new business keeping the future in mind,” he added. 

Before finalising plans, the family even visited Tesla’s manufacturing unit in the US in 2019. “We will start taking bookings from Sunday from our company-owned showroom on Sindhu Bhavan road. We expect to make the first deliveries by October,” Patel said. The brand launched on Saturday currently offers one variant in four colours.
The company, which is outsourcing a 72 V 70Ah Lithium-ion battery from a local manufacturer, is offering a three-year warranty and an additional three-year extended warranty for the battery, motor and controller. “The cost of the battery makes up for 45 per cent of the cost of the motorcycle,” Patel said. The battery will take 6 hours and 35 minutes to attain full charge. 

The motorcycle has been certified by the Automobile Research Association of India and can touch a maximum speed of 85 km per hour. “If a customer drives at a higher speed, the range of the motorcycle will reduce. So, the maximum range of 180 km can be achieved at a speed of 45 km per hour,” he added. The company can currently manufacture 750 units per month.