When the Indian government launched its FAME II programme, it was met with a lot of scepticism. At the time, one of the main concerns regarding EV adoption was whether the country was even prepared for what the government was proposing and the pace that it had in mind.
Fast forward a couple of months and some of the biggest names in the Indian auto market have either launched or have big launches in the pipeline, and we’re even beginning to see all-electric cab aggregators come into being.
One such company is Prakriti E-mobility, whose all-electric EVERA Cabs is a ‘unique app-based taxi service that will not only get customers from Point A to Point B, but will also contribute towards the greater good of the planet, while doing so’.
We caught up with Co-Founder and CEO, Nimish Trivedi. Our conversation began with Trivedi telling us just how EVERA Cabs was conceptualised.
“Myself and my two co-founders, Vikas Bansal and Rajeev Tiwari, are first generation entrepreneurs. As a part of our solar company, we were looking to expand into a different vertical to do with solar energy, especially the charging infrastructure part. But then gradually, as we went onion-peeling and deep-diving, we saw this bigger opportunity with a bigger scope of impact. That’s when we decided to create a platform where people can enjoy a pollution-free ride.”
He adds: “In India, eMobility is surely the next big thing. As you can see, India has skipped the hybrid phase completely. From ICE, we moved straight into electric.”
Prakriti E-mobility recently announced a partnership with Tata Motors to deploy 500 Tigor EVs in New Delhi on its app-based platform EVERA.
Speaking at the time, Mr. Shailesh Chandra, President – Electric Mobility Business & Corporate Strategy, Tata Motors Ltd. said: “Prakriti E-Mobility Solutions is a valuable partner on our path of social responsibility and environmental sustainability. We are confident that Tigor EVs will be a stellar addition to their company’s offerings as it aptly addresses the requirements of longer range applications and also provides higher revenue earning potential for our commercial customers.”
An Enhanced Ride-hailing Experience
I wanted to know more about EVERA Cabs apart from what we already know – it is an all-electric cab aggregator. For starters, Trivedi said that they will be an app-based service, operating primarily on a B2C model only. For now, EVERA Cabs will only be servicing Delhi NCR.
Prakriti E-mobility has partnered with Ridecell, who are developing its app. “User testing is happening as we speak,” says Trivedi.
“We’re almost good to go. We should go live in the month of February. We’ve been talking to a few people who can do the flag-offs and are waiting for their dates. We just have to fix up a date sometime in February, which we’ll announce shortly.”
Trivedi also helped me understand how EVERA Cabs isn’t only about experiencing electric mobility and doing your bit for the environment. Customers will also be treated with an enhanced ride-hailing experience.
He explains: “We have a very big focus on the training and development of the drivers. We’re hiring drivers from the best of the agencies in India like Trig Security or Peregrine. These are the established names, who have extremely professional drivers. That apart, we have our own in-house driver training and rating mechanism that we’re developing.
“While the biggest experience is on the rider side, where we want the rider to get a very professional driver, the other part to this is safety. On the safety side, we’re building a few things on the app, which are not available with any other cab aggregator as of now.
He adds: “Secondly, we have a very big focus on to the maintenance of the car. Whenever the car gets into the charging infrastructure, it has about 90 minutes to get fully charged, and that’s where we’re developing a dedicated cleaning system for the car to be cleaned properly. This means that unlike normal taxis today, we’re providing odourless cars.”
“You can’t have five different charging mechanisms being deployed in one charging station.”
Prakriti E-Mobility is looking to expand to Tier 2 cities such as Jaipur, Indore, Chandigarh soon after they complete its launch in New Delhi.
Trivedi said that while they are still evaluating which city to expand to, they are looking to expand to either one of these cities by the end of this year. It’s also looking at expanding to 5,000 cars in the next 2 years, helped by the partnership with Tata.
Speaking of challenges, Trivedi’s first concern, like most people, is infrastructure. He tells us: “You’ve always got to be very careful that you don’t run out of charge and get stuck, otherwise you’ll only have to get towed. That is one big challenge. Everyone is coming up with their own charging mechanisms. For instance, if I have a Tata car, I can’t charge it on a Nissan or MG or Mahindra charger. This has real-world implications.
“As the numbers grow, that’s going to be a big problem for this space. This needs to be addressed quickly, because you can’t have five different charging mechanisms being deployed in one charging station. And it’s not as easy as carrying a charger in a bag. I will have to know which part of the city I would have to go to charge my car, and must be able to reach there too.”
Judging by the initial responses that it got, the people of New Delhi, who’ve been dealing with dreadful air quality over the last couple of years, are applauding this venture. In fact, some people say that they’re even open to paying a premium for a service that contributes to reducing pollution.
With the launch in Q1, this really is an exciting time for Prakriti E-Mobility.
