What makes the recently launched EV Quanta different from all the other options available in the market? Let us count the ways. Right off the bat, what's most impressive is the rib cage-like design of the chassis, specifically the battery compartment. Batteries are the most expensive component of an EV, so surely this warrants that they are kept locked up and safe. "What's more important is that the design is aesthetically pleasing as well and it protects the internal components of the e-bike," says Parshuram Paka, Founder and CEO, Gravton Motors whose very first e-bike, Quanta, was launched by the Government of Telangana's Principal Secretary of I&C and IT, Jayesh Ranjan in June 2021.
Parshuram's focus has also been on building a whole ecosystem around e-bike. That's why you can expect the 36-member team to be in the news again in April 2022 because they have plans to launch battery-swapping stations at every metro station in Hyderabad. Their app, whose beta version is out in the Google Play Store, will be of great assistance here, helping one keep track of battery charge and the overall health of the e-bike, plus locating the nearest battery-swapping station. And since the experience is just as important for the 35-year-old, Quanta offers a range of 120 km in one single charge.
Hailing from a family that continues to be engaged in agriculture in Singaram, a village in Sircilla district of Telangana, Parshuram hasn't had it easy. "My father was a bullock cart-racer, perhaps it was then that an affinity for vehicles was sowed in me," mulls the youngster. But he went on to study Mechanical Engineering at North Dakota State University in the US on a scholarship and he gave back by burning the midnight oil to teach kids back home over Skype. It's among his own students that he chose his team members and the extensive work on their EV brand began back in 2016.
"Our market research told us that there is a stigma associated with EVs, acid-led batteries, low mileage, difficulty in getting spare parts and overall, it was seen as unreliable. We wanted to banish all of that with Quanta," says the entrepreneur. While Quanta runs on a lithium-ion battery, Parshuram assures us that just one look at Quanta and anyone can infer that it's a robust and strong e-bike. Muddy, hilly, a jump from five feet and what not — this e-bike, powered by a 3kW proprietary BLDC motor made in-house, has braved several terrains in the trial phase to prove its toughness. Since 2017, Quanta has been waiting in the wings, going through several tests and trial runs and now, it's ready to hit the road.
This mean machine is priced at Rs 99,000 and if the price seems a tad high to you, here's what Parshuram has to say about it, "Those who are aware of the costing specifics in the EV industry have said that ours is a competitive price. For others who are unable to see that, I would say that Quanta can run for 800 km on a charge worth just Rs 80, it's as low as 10 paise per km. That's outright huge cost-saving of Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 every month and the return of investment will be complete in a matter of two to three years." Well, that certainly puts things into perspective. That's why we are already looking forward to whatever is next from the house of Nacharam-based Gravton Motors.
More about Quanta
- In just 90 minutes, Quanta can attain full charge
- Quanta assures a five-year battery warranty
- It is available in red, white and black (special edition)
- Gravton charging station facilities are free as a promotional offer
For more on them check out gravtonmotors.com
