Ape Electric auto rickshaw with fixed battery to launch by June [Video]

Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd wants the government to consider giving incentives under the FAME 2 scheme for battery swapping technology. The brand recently launched the Ape E-City people mover, the first product launched under the Ape Electrik range. The first 3-wheeler to have smart swappable batteries, Ape E-City is priced at Rs. 1.97 lakhs ex-showroom Delhi. Here’s a video released by the company on its Youtube channel detailing the 3-wheeler.

At the launch, Ape E-City FX prototype was also showcased with a fixed battery and is expected to launch by June 2020.

In an interaction with BW Businessworld, Diego Graffi, Piaggio India MD & CEO said that Piaggio is in discussions with the government to include battery swapping also in the incentive scheme. Currently, the FAME 2 scheme grants subsidy for vehicles with factory-fitted batteries but not for swappable batteries.

Graffi said:

Under Ape Electrik, we have Ape City, and Gamma, a goods carrier.  We will be coming up with fixed battery run EV, which will be commercially available in the second quarter of (CY) 2020.

Piaggio has partnered with Bengaluru-based Sun Mobility for the swappable battery concept to provide a Quick Interchange Station network, which customers can swap and get back on the road in a few minutes. There’s also an app that customers can use to check battery charge, recharge, locate swap stations, mileage (km/kWh), distance to empty, distance travelled and speed of the vehicle.

Ape E-City is powered by a 4.5 kWh Lithium-Ion battery with a power output of 5.4 kW and torque of 29 Nm. The three-seater comes with a top speed 45 km/h and a certified range of 68 km/charge. Ape E-City gets a first-in-category digital instrument cluster that displays information like state of charge, drive modes, service alerts, economy mode etc provided for advance assistance to drivers. The electric three-wheeler gets standard warranty of 36 months/1 lakh km along with free scheduled maintenance for 3 years.

The company is also studying to extend the battery swap technology to two-wheelers but right now doesn’t have any plans to launch the same.

Source: Businessworld.in