Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Feb 15, 2007
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Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Feb 15, 2007 ePaper |
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Marketing
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Outlook Atlas Cycles sees huge potential for electric bikes R. Ravikumar
The company is launching its e-bikes in select markets initially and the rollout would be complete in a few months.
According to Mr Sanjay Kapur, Joint President, the e-bikes, priced at Rs 17,000, would provide point-to-point transportation. "Having brakes, lights and horn as in the case of regular bikes, the e-bike is operated on a battery, which can be recharged within or outside the vehicles. The bike has a speed of 24 kmph and hence requires no license or registration as it's under the regulatory speed limits. It is equipped with a 240-W geared electric motor that is powered by a rechargeable 36 V-10 AL battery. Weighing about 44 kg, the bike is capable of carrying up to 75 kg. Riders can also pedal the bike normally or engage the electric drive system, says Mr Kapur. The battery once charged fully can run up to 40 km. Generally, the life time of a battery will be two years and replacement would cost around Rs 2,000, said Mr Kapur. "In fact, e-bikes have had a successful presence internationally and global trends reflect that the bike is faring exceptionally well in Europe and other Asian countries. Not to be left behind, India has also awakened to the tremendous potential of e-bikes and I'm sure it will be here for a long time benefiting the daily commuter," Mr Kapur said. After the initial launch, the next step for the company will be to introduce newer models and variants at regular intervals, he said. "We are planning to launch another five to seven new models in the price range of Rs 12,000 to 26,000 very soon, thus tapping the market potential of e-bikes to the best."
Manufacturing units
The Rs 440-crore company has three facilities in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, and is manufacturing around four million bicycles a year, said Mr Gautam Kapur, also Joint President and a cousin of Mr Sanjay Kapur. Around 10 per cent of the production is exported to countries across the world. Apart from that, it also imports high-end fancy bicycles for women and children from China and sells in the domestic market. "We are now present in the entire spectrum of the bicycle market," said Mr Gautam Kapur. According him, the company is launching its e-bikes in select markets initially in phases, and the rollout would be complete in a few months. At present, the e-bikes and motors are imported from China and Taiwan respectively as CKD kits and get assembled in the company's plants. The total size of the bicycle market in the country is 14 million a year. There are four major players in the industry — Hero, Atlas, TI Cycles and Avon. Hero is the market leader. "Actually, Hero and Atlas are neck-to-neck in the race," said Mr Sanjay Kapur.
Government orders
Recently, Atlas executed big government orders from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana and Jharkhand. According to Mr Gautam Kapur, with 1.25 lakh cycles, the order from Tamil Nadu is the biggest of them. Last year, the company posted a turnover of Rs 440 crore and it hopes to close the current fiscal with at least Rs 500 crore. The company's shares are listed in BSE and NSE. On NSE, it closed at Rs 118 today from Rs 120.40 on Tuesday.
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