Spokesperson- Sravan Kumar Appana, Co-founder & Chief Executor of iGowise Mobility
- What sets your latest offering, BeiGo, apart from other lightEVs in the global EV market? Please elaborate on how its design helps address the unique needs of women delivery executives in quick–commerce, micro-entrepreneurs, or solo commuters.
Ans. As a smart mobility-focused deep-tech startup, our priority has been to transform the urban logistics and rural livelihood markets. Keeping industry demands in mind, we designed India’s first electric trike and have been continuously refining our offerings. Today, more delivery executives and micro-entrepreneurs seek livelihood, yet traditional options like auto rickshaws are not only expensive but also rigid and prone to toppling under heavy loads. To address these concerns, we built BeiGo, a high-capacity, high-speed alternative featuring narrow ‘tilting’ technology to ensure stability, load capacity, and agility. Its anti-topple resistance design makes it suitable for uneven and slippery urban roads, its on-demand self-balancing system, a dual powertrain, and a triple-disc-brake CBS system enhance safety while the 150 km range enables uninterrupted deliveries. Additionally, custom storage solution comes in multiple offerings including a temperature-sensitive cold storage solution for fresh produce, vaccines, diagnostic kits, etc.
- How does iGowise Mobility plan to scale its VaaS (Vehicle as a Service) and BaaS (Battery as a Service) models to support micro-entrepreneurs and women’s access to affordable vehicles?
Ans. Typically, women and micro-entrepreneurs face challenges accessing capital to fund new vehicles for their businesses, especially EVs. To help overcome this financial gap, we partnered with several financing partners. For instance, we collaborated with EvateTech, an innovative sustainable vehicle financing company, to offer Vehicle-as-a-service (VaaS) and Battery-as-service (BaaS) pricing models to BeiGo users. The VaaS model is available at a subscription of INR 2.5/km, while the BaaS model starts at just 1 rupee/km, making our LightEV affordable and accessible. VaaS offering is a highly sought-after exclusive model that we curate and offer only to users who have demonstrated good discipline and work ethic.
- What R&D areas would you focus on after the ₹100 crore investment commitment, and how will they promote innovation in lightEVs or trikes?
Ans. iGo’s commitment of INR 100 crore investment in R&D is in line with the National Deep Tech Startup Policy (NDTSP) and aims to support our country’s deep tech startup ecosystem. We plan to double our R&D on developing proprietary technologies that can strengthen Bharat’s IP portfolio. So far, the bulk of current EV investments are only going into high performance and efficiency. iGo, on the other hand, is hell-bent on improving safety, comfort, capacity, and accessibility in the small vehicle space (2Ws and 3Ws), which forms the cornerstone of our economy, both urban and rural.
It plans to focus on the L5 self-balancing tilting trike, the L3 auto-summoning light EV with AI navigation, a Featherlite ultra-strong space-frame body, and an all-wheel-drive light EV with all-terrain active suspension capabilities.
- How does iGowise’s focus on the anti-topple electric trike and advanced tilting & stabilization technology differentiate it from other players in the lightEV space?
Ans. The core elements of our automobile engineering include anti-topple ease of handling, high-speed cornering capability, ride comfort, and our on-demand self-balancing. This balance of performance with comfort, high capacity with safety, and affordability with accessibility helps us distinguish iGo in the lightEV market.
- How do you plan to democratize the light EV space and support Made in India brands for the global market?
Ans. We are inspired by Tesla’s approach to innovation and business expansion. Like them, we intend to open-source our IP for our competitors, as we strongly believe maximum adoption is possible with collaboration and not just competition. Our true competition is with the status quo, particularly to tackle road safety and comfort in two-wheelers, which does not align with the e-commerce economy. While major four-wheeler manufacturers often share their vehicle platforms, this has not been the case in the small vehicle space. This is where we aim to come in and democratize the lightEV space so that hundreds of Made in India brands can take over the world. Our proprietary micro-factory blueprint allows small OEMs to build their localized assembly-cum-distribution centers with minimal investment starting with as little as ₹80 lakhs. They can start building on Indian technology that is tested for Indian roads, but not just for Indian consumption.
- Are there any upcoming collaborations with Q-commerce players or projects in the pipeline?
Ans. We are currently working with four major quick-commerce players to enable their rapid transformation. Many people express valid concerns about the impact of 10-minute deliveries on the safety of the riders. But if you look closely, qCom has helped many riders reduce the fatigue caused by heavy loads on their skiddy scooters. But, of course, it can’t completely eliminate the problem. The bigger items have to be still carried to the dark stores instead of customer premises. This is where the traditional bulky trucks are inefficient many times and often struggle with parking issues. The efficiency of the dark stores makes all the difference in the unit economics of the whole operation. iGo trikes effectively replenish the dark stores with fast-moving goods without breaking the backs and knees of riders and without all the parking hassles. We’re also partnering with industry-leading manufacturing companies to enable high-quality yet cost-effective production.
- What steps is iGowise Mobility taking to promote inclusivity in the logistics workforce?
Ans. Inclusivity on the roads and higher participation in delivery chains is one of our long-standing goals, which we wish to promote through our new-age mobility solutions. However, this ambitious goal demands efforts beyond our company. To reach it, we have been working with Zomato’s sustainability team and several NGOs, including Davacana mobile medical clinics and other homecare service providers.
by Dr. Fahad Usmani, Bureau News360
