Electric cars have received the lion’s share of attention in the course of the EV revolution. However, in some parts of the world other types of individual transport are predominant. In India, it’s motorcycles, which is why the emerging FIM E-Xplorer World Cup has struck a chord. I spoke to Abhishek Reddy Kankanala, owner of Indian racing team Inde, about what the series means for decarbonizing his country’s transportation sector.
“Despite having around 300 million bicycles, India does not have a bicycle racing team,” says Kankanala. “I am on a mission to create more sporting opportunities in India beyond cricket, volleyball and badminton. When I realized that 300 million motorcycles didn’t have their own team to cheer for when Moto GP came to India, I thought we need to change the narrative.”
An E-Xplorer bike jumps over the Formula E Gen3 automobile
However, as an alternative of constructing a Moto GP team, Kankanala desired to help move his country forward. “The future is electric,” he says. “Anything else wouldn’t have made sense. Of those 300 million bicycles, about 2 million are electric. There’s still a long way to go. Starting an e-bike team shows how you can advance technology to the point where you get longer battery life, better bikes, and better frames. We’re here to change perceptions and show how electric is better.”
Motorcycles take priority over cars in India because They contribute significantly more to environmental pollution. “If you look at the 100 most polluted cities in the world, India is at the top,” says Kankanala. “It is number one and it is something the government takes very seriously. We are starting to electrify buses and cars, and the government is also subsidizing bicycles. But right now it’s mostly scooters and not regular motorcycles. The challenge is to change the perception that not only scooters but also motorcycles can be electrified. They also have to be cheaper. India is a very price-conscious country. But because petrol is so expensive in India compared to most countries in the world, it already makes sense. And many young people are making the change. If you look at the largest number of electric scooters sold in the world, it is currently India.”
An E-Xplorer bike is driven through the Formula E paddock
It’s not only their low price that makes bikes popular in India. They also occupy a crucial place in Indian transport culture. “A car is definitely a pipe dream for many Indians, but most people still take their bikes to work,” says Kankanala. “It’s also a cultural thing, especially with the younger generation, that they tend to cycle rather than drive. With 300 million bikes, mostly in urban areas, replacement should be one of the first steps and the government is clearly proactive in this direction. They realized that doing this flip for bikes is much more effective because there are so many more bikes than cars.”
This is where E-Xplorer is available in to advertise electrified motorcycles. “The series emphasizes the coolness factor of a bike,” says Kankanala. “There’s always this conflict between electric bikes and regular bikes because they’re cooler because you grew up with them. But when they see something more valuable in India, they pounce on it. Cell phones are a good example. It didn’t take long for mobile phones to become mainstream in India because the change in values was there. Electric proves that in this series. It makes it look approachable and cool. They see it as an extension of a motorcycle that allows you to move around easily, but without noise. There are a lot of cyclists in India who like to explore and we call ourselves “E-Xplorers” which can also be thoroughly received by the general public. We have more engagement on our channels than the Formula E automobile manufacturers and some other cycling team on the market. We have existed for 3 months. Our rider won the primary race in Japan and that generated greater than 200 articles in India and plenty of attention. Some of our Instagram posts have 350,000 interactions, which could be very unusual for anything within the motorcycling world in India and even automobile racing.”
The E-Xplorer bike is quiet and emission-free and may subsequently be ridden almost anywhere.
The E-Xplorer’s potential to succeed in an audience has not gone unnoticed by motorcycle manufacturers, who’re increasingly excited about how it could actually help advance their very own path to electrification. “When we rode in Osaka a month ago, you could see people from Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki,” says Valentin Guyonnet, CEO and co-founder of the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup. “After the race, Yamaha wanted to step in and Hero MotoCorp from India also wanted to join us. On June 11thThWe will have a round table with all manufacturers including Ducati, Triumph and the KTM group. Together, these manufacturers represent 70% of global production. E-Xplorer is fully open. We built the technical regulations around things like wheels and wheelbases. But the transmission, the battery and the motor – everything is open, even the chassis.” This signifies that manufacturers can use the series to showcase their hardware technology.
Likewise, Kankanala sees the series as not only promoting using electric bikes in India, but in addition as a way of promoting local production. “We will be hosting the first E-Xplorer race in India at the end of November, which will increase awareness,” he says. “We will also be working with many local manufacturers for this event, who will not only have a platform to exhibit their products, but also a platform to develop technology. We are trying to extend battery life. This is a reason for many battery manufacturers in India to also get involved. We are not working with any Indian manufacturers at the moment, but there are already a lot of people talking to us.”
India represents an enormous potential marketplace for electric motorcycle sales, but in addition offers huge opportunities for the local industry.
