Bounce, the Bengaluru-based electric mobility firm, on Thursday made its foray into the consumer market with 'Infinity E1', its first EV offering.

Infinity E1 is an electric scooter that comes in two variants -- a Rs45,099 (ex-showroom, Delhi) option that has no battery but comes with a subscription to a unique "battery-as-a-service-programme", and the second option that comes with a charger and battery and is priced at Rs68,999 (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Pre-bookings for the Infinity E1 have begun. Those interested can prebook this electric scooter by paying a refundable booking amount of Rs499, the company said, adding that it expects deliveries to start across India from the end of March 2022, through its dealership network and its online platform.

The company added that both Infinity E1 scooters are FAME II compliant.

"The Bounce Infinity E1 is designed and engineered to cater to the evolving needs of electric scooter customers in India. We are glad to announce that we are the first and only ones to provide both options to swap batteries from our network as well as charge-at-home for the Infinity E1," said Vivekananda Hallekere, cofounder and CEO of Bounce, adding that they are "committed to taking on all challenges to make India a leading EV adopter globally".

The "battery-as-a-service" is a first-of-its-kind initiative under which customers can pay to swap their battery, whenever it runs out of juice, at Bounce's extensive battery swapping network, which the company claims it has been setting up through prominent partnerships.

The e-scooters come with a 48-volt 39 amp-hour battery, which according to the company can be charged in under five hours by connecting to any regular electric socket. A fully-charged battery offers a range of 85 kilometres. The scooters also boast of other features, such as a digital speedometer, a 12-litre boot, and high-end projector headlights. Advanced lithium-ion packs will manage heat efficiently, the company said.

Each scooter will come with a comprehensive, three-year warranty, up to 50,000km, Bounce said.

The company said the entry-level model aims to make it easier for customers to buy an electric vehicle at a "highly affordable" price and use its battery swapping network, which it said would bring down the running cost substantially, by up to 40 percent, compared to conventional scooters.

Bounce has the backing of prominent investors such as Accel India, Accel US, Sequoia Capital India, Falcon Edge, Qualcomm, and Omidyar Network, among others.

Earlier in the year, Bounce had acquired 22 Motors, including its manufacturing unit in Bhiwadi (Rajasthan), in a deal valued at $7 million.

In November, Bounce announced its plans to invest $100 million in manufacturing of e-scooters and expanding its battery swapping infrastructure over the next 12 months. The Bhiwadi plant has the capacity to manufacture 1,80,000 scooters annually. The company said it also has plans to set up another plan in South India.

First Published:Dec 2, 2021 9:09 PM IST