Electric bikes seem to be the flavour of the season, with crude prices oscillating sharply. Earlier this year, Hero Motors announced a big expansion for its electric bike plant. Now, it’s the turn of Chennai-based TI Cycles to foray into this segment.

The company would be launching three different e-bike models in the first week of October in south India. “We plan to open 40 stores in southern India by November this year. This number should go up to 70 by March next year,” general manager KB Srinivasan said. The total research and development (R&D) investment in the project would be Rs 20 crore, with technical inputs coming from South Korea and China.

Of the three models, two would be in the 250-watt segment, while the third one would have two variants – a 500-watt vehicle and an 800 watt

vehicle. The first two would have a maximum speed of 25 km/hr and the third one would travel at 40-45 km/hr.

The models would be available between Rs 26,000 and Rs 35,000. The 250-watt e-bikes would not require a driving licence, while the larger capacity bikes would require one.

“There is a large chunk of India’s population that does not commute or drive because of certain constraints. This include women, elderly citizens and youth under 18 years of age. We are looking to target this group,” Srinivasan said.

It’s been a while since electric bikes were introduced in the country. But the concept hasn’t become popular due to lack of awareness among customers as well as paucity of service centres and spare parts. Of the 8.5 million two-wheelers sold in India last year, only 120,000 ran on electricity.

“We would be focusing on informing people about the advantages of using an electric vehicle. Even the most efficient, petrol-driven two-wheeler would cost you Rs.1.1/km, while an electric bike would cost you just 40 paise/km. This figure includes the expenses of changing the battery after every 20,000 km,” said Srinivasan.

TI Cycles plans to sell 50,000 electric bikes next year, which would give it a market share of about 25 per cent.