Chennai-based BSA Motors, a division of Tube Investments of India (TII), which is part of the Rs 15,646 crore Murugappa Group, is racing ahead of its competitors to launch a high-speed, high-end electric scooter by the end of October.

“Roamer Plus is our top model, and the R&D (research and development) team is working to produce a new, high-speed e-scooter that will hit the market by October-end to target Diwali festival buyers,” KB Srinivasan, vice-president, BSA Motors, said. The company is in the “certification process” and therefore Srinivasan did not want provide additional details.

“The high-speed model will be a surprise in the market,” Srinivasan said.

At present, the Roamer Plus model, which has a price tag of Rs 35,100 (Pune ex-showroom), has a top speed of 45 km per hour. The company has tied up with two partners to develop a special technology in key parts such as the motor, controller and battery, company officials said. “With top technical collaboration with our Japanese and South Korean partners, we expect the new high speed e-scooter to be a hit in the market,” Srinivasan said. The new technology, he said, would try to bring down the present running cost of the high-end e-scooter, which is 50-60 paise per km.

Its competitor Electrotherm India, the country’s first e-two-wheeler company, which entered the e-bike category in 2006, is also working on high-powered and high-performance e-scooters. The other major rivals are Hero Electric, Ultra Motor and TVS Motor.

“Our focus in the new product is to reduce its price, increase speed and carry load,” Srinivasan said. At present, the local content at BSA Motors’ manufacturing plant at Ambattur, Chennai, is above 30 per cent. The rest 70 per cent of components are imported from China, Taiwan and South Korea. “We are targeting over 80 per cent localisation over the next two years and to achieve this, the company is developing parts with various local vendors,” he said. The company has invested Rs 30 crore in the first year mainly on R&D and the e-scooters began rolling out from November 10, 2008 from its manufacturing plant at Ambattur, Chennai. It has a capacity to manufacture 150 e-scooters a day. The plant can be ramped up to produce 300 units daily.

According to the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles, the e-two-wheeler market in India stood at 1,10,000 units in 2008-09, which is roughly Rs 350 crore in value. While it is still about 1.5 per cent of the entire two-wheeler market in India, it is expected to grow at 15-20 per cent this year, Srinivasan said.

The company plans to ramp up its dealership and sub-dealership showrooms to 240 by March 10, 2010 from its present 48 dealers in the southern market.