Kinetic Green launches electric cargo 3-wheeler ‘Safar Jumbo’

PTI, Oct 27, 2020, 7:58 PM IST

Mumbai: Kinetic Green on Tuesday launched its high-performance electric cargo three-wheeler ‘Safar Jumbo’ amid growing demand for such vehicles particularly in the e-commerce segment.

The company is looking to deliver over 5,000 Safar Jumbo units in the next 6-7 months, with the commercial supply set to begin from next month, said Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Founder and CEO Kinetic Green Energy & Power Solutions at the e-launch of the vehicle.

The electric vehicle maker also plans to roll out variants of its latest offering for different applications like gas cylinder distribution, waste collection, among others, she said.

At a top speed of 55 kmph, the indigenously-designed vehicle is equipped with advanced lithium-ion battery pack designed to give a range of 120 km on a single charge, and it will also be available on swappable battery platform, the company said.

Safar Jumbo is packed with modern technology and hi-tech features such as steel body, digital cluster, Kinetic Konnect app and GPS, independent rear suspension and hydraulic brakes, among others. It is suitable for all cities – big or small, Kinetic Green said.

“We are extremely proud to bring this game-changer E3W to the Indian market. Its high performance and large load-carrying capacity makes it a strong contender to lead the home delivery revolution in the country,” Motwani said.

Over the last few years and especially in the “new normal” of the COVID-19 era, the company has seen massive growth in the e-commerce segment in India, for home delivery of all sorts of products and groceries, she said.

“Our Safar Jumbo is specially designed to meet the needs of the e-commerce companies and their logistics partners, offering them a sustainable last-mile delivery solution at a phenomenal cost of 50 paise per km, which will bring down their delivery cost (as against Rs 3 per km for a diesel engine-run three-wheeler),” she added.

The new vehicle is getting excellent response from these customers and Kinetic Green is already running pilots with several companies, she said.

“We will start commercial supplies of Safar Jumbo from November and expect to deliver over 5,000 vehicles in the next 6-7 months. We will slowly roll out variants of the vehicle for different applications,” Motwani said.

Kinetic Green’s group company, Kinetic Mobility, will also offer the e-cargo fleet to select customers on a “lease” basis to help seed the concept, she added.

With a dealership network of around 175 dealers across India, the new electric three-wheeler will be rolled out to all dealerships over the next few weeks, the company said.

The vehicle is also suitable for distribution of gas cylinders and water, for waste collection and management, delivery of FMCG goods from wholesalers to retailers and other special applications, the company said.

The new electric three-wheeler will qualify for the FAME II subsidy and will come with a best in class warranty of 3 years, Kinetic Green said.

The company has its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, with an assembly capacity of 6,000 electric 3-wheelers per month.