India's fledgling electric two-wheeler segment may have witnessed the first of many consolidations earlier this week, but newer players continue to emerge with vehicles that offer longer mileage per charge and smarter technology integration.
The latest name is Oben EV, a Bengaluru-based start-up that was spotted testing the first of its electric bikes recently. The company, which secured seed-funding recently in December 2021, plans to launch its first electric bike in six months time and was spotted testing it by RushLane.
There is a surfeit of electric scooters in the market, led by the likes of Hero Electric, Ather Energy, Bajaj Chetak and Ola Electric, the bike segment is still finding its feet in India's EV space. The Oben EV would compete directly with India's first AI-based Revolt RV series of electric bikes launched in 2019.
Meanwhile, Oben EV, which secured a seed investment of $1.5 million from a group led by serial investor Gaurav Juneja, Sumeet Pathak and Dr. Milan Modi, is using the funds to create a service network with select cities before they start marketing the first of their planned offerings in the electric bike segment.
Oben electric bike - design, specifications and more
The Oben electric motorbike sports a combination of futuristic and retro design with a round headlamp, sharp body panelling and a chiselled seating profile. The bike out for testing had a dual-tone red and black colour though we believe that more colour options could be available closer to launch.
The centrally placed foot pedals and the ergonomically mounted handlebar suggests that the upcoming bike could be focusing on comfortable rides and not as much the sporty kind. The dimensions have not yet been revealed by the company and we will keep a close lookout for the same and update you.
The bike offers good ground clearance and a wide enough wheelbase to suggest a cruise through the potholed roads of Indian cities. In fact, on both these aspects, the upcoming bike seems to steal a march over the existing electric scooters as well as the Revolt RV series.
The company says the Oben electric bike could run 200km between two charges but issues a caveat that the driving conditions should be ideal or akin to test conditions. It is quite possible that the driving range would be lower in city conditions, but there is a possibility of regenerative breaking adding to the final mileage.
Compared to the Revolt RV series, the range is about 50Kms higher and even beyond what Ola Scooter is claiming. The top speed of the Oben EV is said to be 100kph that is once again beyond that of the earlier Revolt series.
The Oben electric bike also claims an acceleration of 0-40kph in three seconds while it would take up to two hours to charge the battery from zero to full. We are unsure about whether the company would be setting up its charging stations or partner with third-party EV recharging companies or even go for swappable batteries.
Among the patents that the company owns is one around the battery pack that uses maximum heat exchange technology to keep the cells cool even when the bike is moving at high speeds over a long distance. The company says it would offer users with a range of data analytics about the rides as part of their IoT offerings.
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