Chinese electric vehicle company 'Sunra' may setup a plant in India - Report

The Indian electric vehicle market is attracting global attention for investments and the latest name is a leading electric vehicle from China, Sunra. The company exports products to 70 countries, including India.

Also read: A Royal Enfield owner is the first buyer of the Ather 450 electric scooter

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government policies that promote the electric vehicle (EV) sector and the ‘Make in India’ initiative has attracted the attention of the Chinese firm. Thus, Sunra has expressed its interest in setting up a factory here.

Sunra's General Manager Victor Lu thinks India will outpace China in terms of demand for e-vehicles. Speaking to IANS at the company's headquarters in Wuxi, Victor Lu said, "We are studying the policies and we want to set up a factory in India, most likely in Bangalore (Bengaluru). We see India as the world's biggest market for e-bikes and we want to tap into it. There is so much pollution in Delhi and other Indian cities. People would switch to e-bikes very soon."

The Chinese firm has 16 small-time partners in Delhi and India already has two Sunra bike models in its showrooms. In fact, as told by Victor Lu, there are six models that are currently under the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) test.

As reported on September 15, Yamaha is reportedly developing a new electric two-wheeler platform for the global and Indian market. The upcoming electric platform from the Japanese two-wheeler brand will be part of the INDRA concept that was set up by Yamaha Motor Research & Development India.

The two-wheeler segment will play a crucial role in contributing to the target of 15 percent electric vehicle penetration in next five years that was suggested by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Also read: JSW Energy eyeing GM’s Pune plant for production of its electric car - Report

Domestic two-wheeler brands Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor Company, and Royal Enfield have already started working on electric two-wheelers. Suzuki Motorcycle India, too, is working towards launching an electric scooter.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru based Ather Energy has started the deliveries of its Ather 450 smart electric scooter in the city. The base-spec Ather 340 variant, on the other hand, will go into production around November 2018.

[Source: IANS]