"Over the next 18 to 24 months, our primary focus will be on rolling out these different use cases, showcasing our robot's capability to handle a large addressable market and a wide variety of applications. Once we establish the effectiveness of the technology, we plan to transition to rental models."
02 Sep 2024 | 4426 Views | By Shahkar Abidi
Bengaluru-based SUN Mobility, which introduced its modular battery-swapping technology for Heavy Electric Vehicles (HEVs) at Prawaas 4.0, hopes to roll out different use cases of the product on similar lines, across segments.
These include light commercial vehicles (LCVs), medium commercial vehicles (MCVs), heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs), fixed trucks, trailers, ...
This is an Autocar Pro Plus article. Subscribe to continue reading.
Bengaluru-based SUN Mobility, which introduced its modular battery-swapping technology for Heavy Electric Vehicles (HEVs) at Prawaas 4.0, hopes to roll out different use cases of the product on similar lines, across segments.
These include light commercial vehicles (LCVs), medium commercial vehicles (MCVs), heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs), fixed trucks, trailers, mining vehicles, port vehicles, city buses, intercity buses, and others.
Ashok Agarwal, CEO- HEV, SUN Mobility said, "Over the next 18 to 24 months, our primary focus will be on rolling out these different use cases, showcasing our robot's capability to handle a large addressable market and a wide variety of applications. Once we establish the effectiveness of the technology, we plan to transition to rental models.
This approach will allow us to prove the viability of our solutions, instill confidence in stakeholders, and demonstrate that our technology works across multiple use cases at a small scale before expanding further" he added.
SUN Mobility, which offers battery swapping as a solution to the transportation industry, on August 29 announced that it has partnered with Bangalore-based, Veera Vahana, a bus manufacturer, to launch India’s first 10.5 metre battery swappable buses for intercity and mofussil routes at
Prawaas 4.0. is an international conference organised by Bus & Car Operators Confederation of India (BOCI). The same technology will work with all the vehicles of Veera Vahana, which is a bus coach builder, and a commercial vehicle OEM based in Bangalore.
Agarwal pointed out that electrifying commercial fleets, especially heavy vehicles, is crucial for cutting emissions, improving air quality, and boosting the overall efficiency of the transportation sector. SUN Mobility’s Smart BatteryTM solution is suitable for light, medium and heavy trucks and buses, ranging from 3-tonne to 55-tonne Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW).
He explained that the development should be seen in the context that battery swapping can help to bring down the upfront cost of the buses by 40%, matching the upfront cost of traditional ICE buses and this coupled with easy access to financing can break the entry barrier for adoption of EVs by fleet owners.
Further, it reduces operational costs of fleet operators by up to 20%, while increasing uptime and higher utilization of buses owing to the swift swapping process of under three minutes. The compact and light form factor of the battery ensures higher payload-carrying capacities, Agarwal continued.
"Today, buses and trucks form about 5% of the total vehicle population but contribute about 50% of the tailpipe emissions. 90% of the commercial vehicles segment is privately owned and given this sector is not subsidised, battery swapping can drive an additional 30% increase in EV adoption and play a vital role in achieving India’s goal of zero carbon emissions in heavy commercial vehicles," the top executive explained.
SUN Mobility, since its inception in 2017, claims to have onboarded over 26,000 vehicles across two, three and small four-wheeler fleet segments. With more than 630 battery swapping stations across the country, the company clocks around 1.6 million kilometers and 60,000 battery swaps each day, marking an impressive 84% increase from last year's utilisation.
Furthermore, with its recent strategic joint venture with IndianOil, SUN Mobility plans to leverage IndianOil’s network of over 37,000 fuel stations across the country which they plan to club it with SUN Mobility’s battery-swapping technology making it as accessible as conventional fuel stations.