Coimbatore-based electric vehicle manufacturer,
Ampere Vehicles, has launched two new electric scooters in India. These are the
Ampere V48 and the Reo Li-Ion. The Ampere V48 is priced at Rs. 38,000 and the Reo
Li-Ion is priced at Rs. 46,000. Both scooters get a lithium-ion battery pack
charger as well. These scooters need no registration either as they can touch a
top speed of only 25 km/h. It has been a year since Ampere has been focussing
on developing electric motors and other technology specific to electric
scooters.
Both scooters feature a 250W brushless DC motor and
are powered by a 48V lithium-ion battery pack. The Reo Li-Ion has a load
hauling ability of 120 kg while the Ampere 48V can haul up to 100 kg. Both
scooters have a range of 65-70 kilometres. Ampere says that both scooters can
be fully charged within 4-5 hours.
Along with the two scooters, Ampere Vehicles also
introduced its new lithium-ion charger which is priced at Rs. 3,000. The charger
has a two-stage profile which can change the voltage and the current level. The
battery is also fitted with control and monitoring systems which can protect
the battery from short-circuit, high temperature cut-off and reverse-polarity
protection as well.
Ampere has 150 dealerships in the country with
presence in 14 states. The company's major focus is on Tier II and Tier III
cities. Since Ampere began its operations in India in 2008, it has sold over
35,000 electric scooters. Ampere has its R&D facility in Coimbatore and
this is where it develops the electric motor along with the charger and the
battery controller. But, the battery packs are sourced from Taiwan and China.
