Bengaluru-based Emobi Manufactury Private Limited, Tuesday announced a strategic development partnership with Musashi Seimitsu CO Ltd. (Musashi), and with Honda Power Pack Energy India (HEID) for Battery Swap Services. Emobi, driven by a young team, challenges the concept of last-mile/bike taxi riders using its own ICE vehicles or low-speed, underpowered electric two- wheelers (E2W) it will manufacture.

Emobi has developed an E2W using Musashi’s high-performance powertrain with Battery-As-A-Service provided through HEID battery swapping solutions. The E2W is designed for performance, reliability and affordability, targeting a best-in-class vehicle towards last mile delivery / bike taxi segments, the company said.

The vehicle is designed to be on par with 125CC equivalent ICE variants, and is expected to be among the best-in-class for the target segment on performance, efficiency, and reliability established through its strong partnerships and their DNA of striving for perfection, the company said in a media release.

The Indian B2B market for electric vehicles is on the verge of rapid expansion. However, electric vehicle offerings in this market segment tend to cater more towards cost, than the performance of the vehicle, due to increased complexities involved in designing high performance vehicles. This makes it harder for companies, especially in the bike taxi category to convince riders to abandon their ICE vehicles and transition to Electric Vehicles.

Bharath Rao, Founder of Emobi, said, “We are thrilled to introduce Emobi’s game-changing EV to the market. Our vision has always been to make last mile deliveries/ bike-taxis more exciting, eco-friendly, and cost-effective than ICE vehicles. With the support of our global partners and our innovative technology enabled designs, we are confident that Emobi will redefine the last-mile delivery / bike taxi landscape in India to start globally in the near future”.

“ We support Emobi’s strategy and we will develop affordable and reliable products under the partnership,” Musashi’s CEO of India/Africa region, In charge of e-motorcycle business, Toshihisa Otsuka, said.

“Our battery swapping service can reduce B2B rider’s charging downtime and the initial cost of purchasing an EV. There is also no need to worry about deteriorated battery replacement in the future. The wealth of expertise with lithium-ion battery technology that Honda has cultivated over many years in the global four-wheeler market has been concentrated in the creation of Honda Mobile Power Pack e: – a swappable battery solution. This secure and reliable lithium-ion battery pack will undoubtedly expedite Emobi’s growth in the sales of cutting-edge electric vehicles,” Tomohide Haraguchi, Vice President of Technology and OEM development, Honda Power Pack Energy India Pvt. Ltd. said.

Aligning with the government’s push towards electric mobility and sustainability, the primary goal of Emobi’s collaboration with Musashi and HEID is to create an EV that encourages the last-mile delivery / bike taxi riders to park their ICE vehicles and use its EV, the release said.