Why do some E2W/L-category vehicle startups get massive funding, while many die without support? What do investors look for? Does everything make sense? What makes startups attractive? We dug through 15+ years of funding data to identify trends. Then, the question: What is the RoI for investors?
This Weekender, we look at Zeway stopping operations, Honda EV scooters in Vietnam, Ola Electric starting production of the Roadster X motorcycle, the rocking Ryvid interview, and more...
Daily News Impact 07-APR-25: In this edition: 1. Ola Inflated February Sales Numbers; 2. Niu Has a Strong Jump in Sales Volumes
Since we now do regular publishing nearly every week day, we decided to move the Weekly Newsletter to Saturdays. It is now the Weekender and we would focus on things that we could not talk about all week but important developments, nonetheless.
Daily News Impact 01-Apr-25: The Indian E2W market hit an all-time high in Mar 2025 - Everyone had a great month except Ola Electric; Yamaha buys Brose e-bike drive unit;
26-Mar-25: Honda has an electric motorcycle...sort of. Is Zapp Electric to get delisted? Ola Electric coughs up supplier dues. Argentina extends ABS by six months
The KTM crisis has again highlighted the continent's high-cost underbelly. It's even more challenging if you are a startup planning to make electric commuter scooters. Mass manufacturing may not be in Europe's future, but boutique players like Colibri certainly have one.
There are not too many publicly traded E2W and electric light mobility players. The ones that are have mostly been struggling. We last checked their health eight months back. Now, we check on them again and realize that things have taken a downturn for the worse.
How many swappable batteries would any brand make? That's a rhetorical question. Honda has already answered that. They would only do the MPP. So it's goodbye to SBMC, which may be the consortium's death knell. With Honda and Yamaha exiting, there is not enough meat on the bone.
Ola Electric has reported a 50% increase in Net Losses and a 19.5% drop in revenues in Q3 FY2025 (year-on-year). In a quarter when the Indian E2W industry reached a new peak, Ola's declined. The company also had a one-off cost of INR 1.1bn (USD 12.56m) to address service issues.
In an ultra-competitive industry, a startup that admits it wants to stay away from racing is refreshing. Dust Moto has a great-looking off-roader, and we wouldn't have been surprised if they tried to go head-on with Stark. But, no. Colin Godby, the CEO, sees the market differently...
Marketing is critical for technology creation. Without taking new tech to the masses, one cannot continue creating. Pathbreaking innovations - from Damon's hyper-optimized monocoques to Verge's Donut motor- often take time to reach the mass level. That limits their impact.
