Hyderabad, Jan 10 (FN Agency) Franklin EV, a Hyderabad-based electric scooter manufacturer, on Tuesday announced that it has set a target to achieve sales of 3000 units per month and reach 200 showrooms mark by the end of this year. “At present, we are exporting our models to Nepal, Bangladesh and also to Africa and we have plans to enter several other countries, ” Franklin EV Founder Dr Shashidhar Kumar along with co-founders Ranjith Kumar and Naveen Kumar said at a press conference here. Currently, we have 54 dealerships in four southern States and we are in active discussions with 30 people for new franchises, he said. To achieve our targets, Dr Shashidhar said, we have taken up Rs 50 crore expansion drive and many investors are keen to invest in our company,” Franklin EV, which started its sales in 2021.
It has a widespread presence in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the Company Founder said. “At present, we have a sales network across 30 cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, and Vijayawada. There are 14 showrooms in Hyderabad alone. We acquired more than 6,000 customers within two years of starting our sales, ” said Naveen Kumar. Priced at Rs 1.14 lakh, the company is selling a revolutionary electric scooter ‘ Koro’, which comes equipped with dual batteries and has a range of 200 kilometres on a single charge, he said with single battery variant, the price is Rs 81,450. Franklin EV is the only company to manufacture dual battery models from south India, he claimed and said apart from Koro, we have Power Plus and Nix Dlx in the market. By April this year, we will launch two more models which will come with a 100-kilometre range and will be priced between Rs 65,000 and Rs 75,000 after FAME-II subsidy. We are the only company in South India, which is making electric scooters under FAME-II subsidy,” Dr Shashidhar said.
The electric scooter maker offers service to customers at home and provides free spare parts service for 10 years. Depending on the model, Franklin EV uses 2.1-3 kilowatt lithium ion and lithium phosphate batteries. “We procure batteries from leading manufacturers such as New Energy Tech, EVE, and Molicell, ” he said the batteries come with certifications from ICAT-AIS 156, BIS, CE, ISO and ROHS. We are deploying removable batteries which can be separated from the vehicle for easy charging. All models come with a warranty of two years on the motor, one year on the controller, three years on the battery and one year on the charger. We offer free service for two years,” Dr Shasidhar, a pediatrician by profession, explained. With 100% localisation, a first in South India, Franklin EV has a manufacturing unit at Cherlapally on the outskirts of Hyderabad and the plant has a capacity to produce 100 e-scooters per shift per day, he informed. “Our two new models, to be launched in April, will entirely be manufactured with locally-made components and we will become the first company in South India to manufacture electric scooters with 100 per cent localisation. With regard to our Power Plus, Nix Dlx and Koro models, we achieved a localisation of 70 per cent,” said Ranjith Kumar. Customers can purchase Franklin EVs with loans from Kotak Mahindra, IDFC First Bank, Shriram Finance and Bajaj Finance. Zero down payment facility is also available, the Company co-founder said.