Local firm Bounce set to give tough competition to Ola Electric

New Delhi, Nov 13 (IANS) Ola Electric is set for some tough local competition as smart mobility solution company Bounce on Saturday announced the launch of its first electric scooter called Bounce Infinity.

Industry sources told IANS that the Bounce e-scooter will be launched later this month, and pre-booking will begin from December first week and deliveries to start by January.

The e-scooter without battery will be available for under Rs 50,000 (swappable battery option) and around Rs 70,000 for a fixed battery model (that is also removable and can be charged at home).

On the other hand, Ola S1 is priced at Rs 99,999; for the S1 Pro, customers will have to pay Rs 1,29,999 (ex-showroom). These prices include the FAME II subsidy, but exclude state subsidies.

Bounce Infinity claims to give 80-85 km on single charge.

Bounce has set aside $100 million to be invested in the EV business over the next one year.

It acquired 100 per cent stake in 22Motors in a deal valued at about $7 million in 2021.

As part of the deal with 22Motors, Bounce acquired its Bhiwadi, Rajasthan-based plant and intellectual property. The state-of-the-art plant has a capacity to manufacture around 1,80,000 scooters per year.

According to the company, for Bounce Infinity, customers will have the option to use the battery as a service, which will be first-of-its-kind in the Indian market.

"Scooter without battery means the customer pays for the battery whenever they swap an empty battery with a charged battery in the company's swapping network. This makes the running cost of scooters 40 per cent lesser than conventional petrol scooters," the company said in a statement.

The most unique thing about the vehicle is that it comes with removable batteries, so the customer can remove them, carry them and charge, as per their requirement.

Additionally, they will have an option to purchase without battery and use the company's vast swapping network.

Since batteries can account for 40-50 per cent of an electric scooter's cost, Bounce is dedicated to build a battery swapping network which will serve both its retail customers and its ride-sharing business.