Electric cars have had the lion’s share of attention during the EV revolution. But in some parts of the world, other modes of personal transportation are dominant. In India, it’s motorcycles, that’s why Nascent FIM E-Xplorer World Cup struck a chord. I spoke with Abhishek Reddy Kankanala, the owner of the Indian racing team in India, about what the series means for the decarbonisation of his country’s transport.
“Despite having about 300 million bicycles, India does not have a bicycle racing team,” says Kankanala. “I am on a mission to create more opportunities in India for sports beyond cricket, volleyball and badminton. When I noticed that 300 million bikers did not have their own team to cheer for when Moto GP came to India, I I think we need to change the narrative.”
An E-Xplorer bike leapfrogs the Formula E Gen3 car
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Instead of building a Moto GP team, however, Kankanala wanted to help lead his country forward. “The future is electric,” he says. “Anything else would not have made sense. Of those 300 million bicycles, we have about 2 million that are electric. There is a long way to go. The creation of an electric bicycle team shows how you can push the technology to a point where get longer battery life, better bikes, better frames. We’re here to change the perception and show how electric is better.”
Motorcycles take precedence over cars as a focus in India because are a more significant contributor to pollution. “If you look at the 100 most polluted cities in the world, India is ranked right up there,” says Kankanala. “It is number one, and this is something that the government takes very seriously. We are starting to electrify buses and cars, and the government also gives subsidies for bicycles. But at this point, they are mostly scooters and not regular motorcycles. The challenge is to change the perception that it’s not just scooters that can be electrified, they also need to be cheaper. India is a very price conscious country. But that’s how petrol is expensive in India, compared to most countries in the world, is already starting to make sense. And many young people make the change. If you look at the largest number of electric scooters sold in the world, it is at this point”.
An E-Xplorer bike is driven around the Formula E paddock
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It is not only their low price that makes the bikes popular in India. They also have an important place in the transportation culture of India. “A car is definitely an aspiration for many Indians, but most people still take their bikes to work,” says Kankanala. “It is also a cultural thing, especially with the younger generation, who tend to gravitate towards bicycles instead of a car. When you have 300 million bicycles and especially in the urban area, change must be one of the first steps and the government is obviously proactive towards it. They realized that if you do that flip for bikes, it’s much more efficient because there are a lot more bikes than cars.”
This is where E-Xplorer steps in to promote electrified motorcycles. “The series emphasizes the cool factor of a bike,” says Kankanala. “There is always this conflict between electric and regular bikes that are cooler because you grew up with them. But in India, when they see something more valuable, they jump on it. Cell phones are a good example. There is It didn’t take long for mobile phones to take off, because the value change was here. It makes it look accessible and cool. They see this as an extension of a motorcycle where you can easily move , but without the noise. India has a large crowd of cyclists who like to explore and call E-Xplorers also resonates with the public. We have more engagement on our channels than the manufacturers of Formula E cars and every other bike team out. We have three months in existence. Our female rider won the first race in India and that has created more than 200 articles and a lot of awareness. Some of our Instagram posts have 350,000 engagements , which is very unusual for anything in the world of motorcycling in India, or even car racing.
The E-Xplorer bike is quite and emission-free, so it can be ridden almost anywhere.
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The potential of E-Xplorer to reach the audience has not gone unnoticed by motorcycle manufacturers, who are interested in how it can help promote their own electrification journey. “When we raced 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. June 11th, We will have a round table with all manufacturers, including Ducati, Triumph, KTM group. Together, these producers represent 70% of global production. E-Xplorer is fully open source. We built the technology regulation around things like wheels and wheelbase. But the gearbox, the battery and the engine – everything is open even the chassis. This means that manufacturers can use the series to show their hardware technology.
Similarly, Kankanala sees the series not only to promote the use of electric bikes in India, but also as a vehicle to promote local manufacturing. “We are going to do the first run of E-Xplorer in India at the end of November which will improve awareness,” he says. “We will also be linked with many local manufacturers for this event, who will not only have a platform to exhibit their products, but also a platform where they can develop technology. We are trying to make the battery last longer. This provides a reason to that many battery manufacturers in India are also coming on board. Currently, we do not have any collaboration with any Indian manufacturer, but we already have many people talking to us.”
India represents a huge potential market for the sale of electric motorcycles, but there is also a great opportunity for the local industry.
