Tag: inc

Okaya EV recently re-branded itself to OPG Mobility. Anshul Gupta, Managing Director of OPG Mobility, shares the company’s vision for its EV business, which includes e-2Ws, 3Ws, battery packs, powertrain components and EV chargers. We also discuss the recent rebranding to create a distinct identity for the EV business, separate from the battery-centric Okaya brand.

What was the thought behind the recent rebranding from Okaya EV to OPG Mobility?

Over the years, as we built our EV business and its ecosystem, we realized that the brand needed to connect with end consumers in the automotive segment while also distinguishing itself from our parent brand, Okaya, which is well-known for batteries and has a strong presence in the industry.

While Okaya’s reputation helped attract customers, positioning an independent automotive brand under the same name proved challenging.

To address this, we strategically created two distinct brands under the OPG flagship – Ferrato as a dedicated 2W brand and OPGOTTO for 3Ws. These brands have separate distribution networks, unique product lines, and a well-defined roadmap.

Okaya, as a battery brand, will continue its independent journey.

When you first entered the EV space, what kind of synergies from your legacy businesses helped drive your progress?

As a group, we have been in the electronics industry for a long time—Microtek is now a 38-year-old company. Along with electronics, we have also been involved in various IT ventures and are well known for our battery business, particularly lead-acid batteries. We started the lithium battery business back in 2016-17, even before the EV revolution had truly begun.

Microtek dealt with AC-to-DC conversion—just like inverters for lead-acid batteries—and it was the right time for us to explore the EV charging station space. From there, we moved toward the transition from lead-acid to lithium-ion batteries, which was happening gradually. Our experience in batteries proved invaluable.

EVs are primarily about batteries, with electronics and software playing significant roles and mechanical components making up the rest. Since our group had expertise in all these areas—IT, batteries, mechanical, and electronics—venturing into EVs in 2019 made perfect sense.

It also helped that we had in-house talent from our existing businesses, which we combined with market expertise to develop a product line after two years of research and development. Our commitment to LFP chemistry defined our scooter strategy, making us one of the first companies to introduce LFP battery based scooters with dual-battery options and multiple kilowatt-hour variants within the same model.

You offer charging solutions and EV batteries, along with your vehicles in the 2W and 3W segment. What is your overall vision for the e-mobility business as a group?

We aim to leverage our ecosystem to lower the TCO for Indian consumers and the markets we are targeting, ensuring sustainable growth and greater market penetration.

• Our e-mobility business is structured into five key areas: two-wheelers, three-wheelers, EV components, EV charging, and energy storage.

• The two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and component businesses naturally complement each other.

• The EV charging products also cater to the four-wheeler, truck, and bus sectors—areas where we have no plans to manufacture vehicles. Our focus is on highway EV chargers. Additionally, we are working with stakeholders to deploy AC chargers for home and community charging. There is increasing demand from North America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, and we plan to capitalize on exports in the coming years.

• We are concentrating on battery-based energy storage systems, including battery-plus-UPS and battery-plus-inverter solutions for commercial, industrial, and residential applications. Since 2018, we have been deploying and testing energy storage solutions. Now, the priority is to scale these businesses aggressively.

With component manufacturing facilities, EV assembly lines for three-wheelers and their parts, and an increasingly stable industry framework—especially with government support for CCS2 and AC Type 2 chargers—the foundation is strong. The next phase is about scaling our operations to make a lasting impact.

When you mention the EV components business, apart from batteries, what other components are you currently offering?

In the L2 category, we manufacture motors, controllers, TFTs, and speedometers—both TFT-based and analog-segmented versions. Additionally, we produce wire harnesses, frames, and plastic parts. Among these, we have opened up certain components to the market, including batteries, chargers, motors, and controllers. We are also in discussions with strategic partners for plastic molding and painting, as we have our own paint shop, along with frame manufacturing.

For the L3 segment, we are involved in battery manufacturing, motor, controllers, chargers, and frames. The core powertrain components are available for other OEMs and the aftermarket. While we have yet to fully localize these components at our own facility, we are currently working with third-party manufacturers. As of now, we are focused on battery chargers, but we plan to expand into motor controllers as well.

Our EV component business is open to supplying to other OEMs. We have batteries for both 2Ws and 3Ws, along with distribution and aftermarket solutions. Initially, our focus was on refining battery designs, leveraging insights from having 60,000 to 70,000 scooters (including low-speed) and over 20,000 lithium-ion batteries for 3Ws on the road. Now that we have successfully optimized our batteries for both 2Ws and 3Ws, we have reopened our offerings to the market.

For different e-mobility businesses, where are your manufacturing facilities located?

Our manufacturing operations are spread across 45 acres in Himachal Pradesh.

• One of our main plants, covering 15 to 18 acres, focuses on components such as powertrain systems, lithium-ion batteries, energy storage batteries, and EV chargers. This facility operates on a ‘plant within a plant’ concept, with dedicated teams and subject matter experts managing different manufacturing zones.

• Our two-wheeler vehicle assembly unit is about two kilometres away.

• Around five km from the component plant, we have another facility dedicated to frame manufacturing. This fully robotic plant produces scooter frames and e-rickshaw frames, including coating processes.

• Our fourth location houses plastic parts manufacturing and the paint shop.

• We are also in the process of establishing a fifth unit for three-wheeler manufacturing. We are considering shifting this segment from Himachal to locations like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, or Haryana to optimize logistics costs and improve margins. Currently, our three-wheelers are manufactured in Himachal within our main component facility.

What is the overall team strength for your e-mobility business across all segments?

We have 489 employees on our payroll. If we include contractual workers as well, our total workforce ranges between 800 to 1,000. We also operate an overseas R&D unit, which is included in this count.

Could you talk about the level of localization? What are key import dependencies?

• We have applied for a patent registration for our design for EV chargers. We have supplied nearly 1000 DC chargers to the market. The total count of our chargers in the market is neatly 3,500 units, all designed in-house, including components, control cards, and boards. PCBs are sourced from India, and mounting is done in-house with our assembly line. Some strategic components, such as microcontrollers, are sourced externally. Our localization level exceeds 85%, with the only remaining dependencies being rectifiers and screens as per the PMP guidelines. The charging guns have been localized as well.

• For the 2W segment, we have achieved over 84% localization, excluding the cells. This is due to the in-house moulding of frames, plastic parts, motors, controllers, and other key components. The entire motor manufacturing process, from winding to assembly, is done in-house for BLDC motors, while mid-drive motor winding is planned for localization as volumes scale up. Controllers are manufactured internally, while some chargers are sourced from Indian partners meeting the PM E-drive scheme qualifications.

• For the 3W segment, most components are localized. Cells are imported, but chargers, motors, and controllers are either manufactured in-house or sourced from Indian partners. Only for e-rickshaw, certain parts are imported directly, other that than, all parts are domestically sourced.

How was the year 2024 for you, and what numbers do you expect for this year?

Last calendar year, 2024, we saw a decline in numbers for the two-wheeler category, both in high-speed and low-speed segments. We have been actively working on identified areas to rebuild and scale our volumes.

To revive two-wheeler sales, we have made strategic changes in how communication, marketing, and retail operations function and distribution strategies. Strengthening relationships with dealerships is key, so we are engaging with them directly, ensuring their concerns are addressed. We have already started seeing results—our retail numbers for high-speed and low-speed two-wheelers doubled in February compared to the previous month.

For three-wheelers, we officially began retail operations just two months ago after a trial phase to test dealership viability. Now, dealerships are achieving returns on investment.

Unlike our rapid expansion in the two-wheeler business—where sales didn’t always meet expectations—we are following a phased approach for three-wheelers. This year’s key focus is ensuring profitability for our distribution partners while maintaining an optimal total cost of ownership for the end consumer.

In terms of overall numbers, last year was not as encouraging as the previous one. However, our goal for this year is to scale up significantly, attract investments, and onboard a financial partner to infuse capital into the business. We have clear applications for these funds and aim to grow the business towards an IPO route in the future.

With respect to your plans to scale the distribution network, what kind of on-ground presence are you targeting?

• In the two-wheeler space, we currently have around 300 network partners, and our goal is to scale this up to approximately 550. When it comes to deeper market penetration, including sub-dealers, the average ratio is about 4 per main dealer. This means the total touchpoints should be between 1,800 to 2,000, including the sub-dealer network. Our first priority remains ensuring the viability of our existing dealerships. Some are already profitable, while others need additional guidance, which we are actively offering.

• For three-wheelers, we have set a target of establishing around 190 principal dealership partners in the L3 and L5 segments.

Also read: This interview was first published in EVreporter March 2025 magazine