Saumya Ranjan Rout, Founder of Verge Motors, with the team of 15 members (Mechanical, Electrical, and aeronautical engineers/Designers) made a prototype “VM KDH 100” after carrying out the R&D for 2 years. The Working prototype delivering the mileage of 100 km/l, top speed 100 km/h, EV Range 40 km, Swappable battery and much more.
Faster, Flexible and Efficient mobility with India’s First plug-in parallel electric hybrid scooter from Verge Motors. An Electric Scooter that not only runs on electricity but also there is an alternate option of petrol, which can be changed just with a flick of the switch. It provides you a 100 km ride in just 1 liter of fuel with a top speed of 100 km/h.
Interview With Verge Motors CEO, Saumya Ranjan Rou
Saumya Ranjan said,” We started with the idea of creating the next generation vehicles in 2015 because the automotive industry had not seen any significant change in performance, mileage or the connectivity. So, we started working with electric and hybrid powertrains for two-wheelers since India is the largest two-wheeler market in the world.”
The Verge Motors Electric Hybrid Scooter-VM KDH 100
Verge Motors a start-up company started in 2015, with an aim to create next-generation vehicles. They started working with the electric and hybrid powertrains for two-wheelers. They created a 3D model and tried experimenting with the conventional vehicle by adding the components from electric auto rickshaws, electric cars and petrol cars in a scooter. The vehicle was tested and addressed to all feasibility issues in 2016. After months, the vehicle was designed and manufactured the custom parts.
“There are a lot of challenges that any startup faces during its inception and operation. We are still bootstrapped and seeking investment, so it has been quite challenging to find an investor who understands hardware businesses and bring us value,” said Saumya Ranjan.
“Starting the company was pretty challenging for me, it was hard convincing myself to take the leap of faith, let alone tell others to join me in this endeavor. But it has been the best learning experience till now and I’m excited for what lies ahead,” he adds.
India is a Huge Market for Two-Wheelers
There is a huge market for two-wheelers in India. Twenty-one million two-wheelers were sold from March 2017 to March 2018 and five million Scooters were sold From March 2017 to March 2018 in India. There was 14.8 percent of the growth in sales of scooters from the year 2017 to 2018 in India.
The Hybrid Scooter-VM KDH 100
The scooter has a unique feature which provides alternative options to its consumers, “Our product can run on electricity alone like an electric vehicle, it can run on petrol alone like a conventional scooter and it can run on both simultaneously for better acceleration. We want to offer the convenience of choosing the fuel to the user because there are drawbacks about both petrol vehicles and EVs,” adds Saumya.
Verge Motors is the first company which stands unique with other vehicles, the CEO says, “We’ll be the first company to introduce parallel hybrid electric scooters in the Indian market, providing a mileage of 100 km/l. We are making a product that will stand out from the rest of the products yet provide class-leading features.”
Is VM KDH 100 Parallel Hybrid is eco-friendly?
Electric Vehicles are contributing to making the environment pollution free since VM KDH 100 runs on electric and as well as on petrol it uses very less amount of fuel when compared to other conventional vehicles.“Studies have been carried out by several academics the world over and the results are similar. The source for pollution in EVs is due to the current power generation mix (60-70 % coal-based) and manufacturing emissions. But they do contribute to improving the urban air quality and reducing our oil import bills,” said Saumya Ranjan.
“ICE vehicles still pollute more than EVs if the entire lifecycle is taken into consideration. But Today’s ICE vehicles emit only about 1% of the pollution than they did in the 1960s, and new innovations continue to improve those engines’ efficiency and cleanliness, but the number of vehicles has continued growing,” he adds.
Specifications of Hybrid scooter-VM KDH 100
- Riding Modes: 1) EV mode 2) Hybrid Mode 3) Sport Mode
- EV Mode Range- 40 km
- Hybrid Mode Range- Electrically driven for speeds-30 km/h, higher speeds for higher speeds petrol engine turns On and motor turns off saving energy and engine is used to recharge the depleted battery. 100 km/l (40 km, electric range + 50 km/l, claimed mileage of 110cc engine+10km, regeneration via engine alternator)
- Sports Mode- Both Engine and Motor supply power to rear wheel by which vehicle accelerates faster.
- Engine-109.7 cc
- 0-40 km/h in 5.7 sec
- Motor: 1.2 KW BLDC (Chassis mounted)
- Battery: Li-ion 48 V 20 AH
- Weight (Dry): 121 Kg
- Petrol Class- 125 cc
- Acceleration 0-40 km/h-3.3 sec
- Top Speed- 120 km/h
- Range- 40-500 km Modular battery (based on 100 km/L)
- Charging- Easily removable battery, +6 m chord/petrol
- Intelligence & Connectivity- Onboard Navigation, Over the air-updates,remote diagnostics.
- weight- 118 kg
- Price- 90,000
“This vertical is very well known now and there are a lot of startups doing EVs, so everyone can learn from each other and take inputs from one’s failure or success,” said Saumya Ranjan.
VM KDH 100 Hybrid Scooter to Launch in June 2019
