Convert your two-wheeler into an Electric Vehicle in just 4 hours; Here’s how

As fuel prices rise, electric scooters are finally gaining traction in India. More and more consumers are now looking at the electric vehicle option.
According to a report by The Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles, 1,52,000 Electric Vehicles were sold, followed by a 6 percent drop in sales, next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to NITI Aayog, electric two-wheelers are projected to occupy 80 percent of India’s enormous two-wheeler market by 2030.
Although India’s shift to electric vehicles has been hampered by high prices and a lack of charging infrastructure, the running costs of e-scooters are only a tenth of those of internal combustion-powered two-wheelers.

The high cost of a brand new EV has given second thoughts to a few people and they are also exploring cheaper options to own an EV.
A Bengaluru-based startup offers to convert your petrol two-wheeler into an Electric vehicle in just 4 hours.

Zuink Retroftit, a subsidiary of Bounce is a dockless scooter sharing company. Consumers can reserve one of their conversion kits for Rs 499, and Zuink Retrofit will give them a date and slot when the installation process begins.

If one buys a new EV two-wheeler, it would cost them between Rs 70,000 to more than Rs 1 lakh. Zuinik helps you convert your scooter to an EV for just Rs 26,999 or an EMI of Rs 899 per month with no upfront costs.

During the conversion process, the petrol scooter’s engine, fuel tank and silencer are removed, and an electric powertrain with a rear-wheel mounted hub motor is installed. A wiring harness is also deployed along with an installation of a 2 kWh lithium-ion battery on their converted electric scooters.

Zuink Retrofit has built a battery swapping network and electric scooters will operate on that. In Bengaluru, they have more than 150 battery swapping stations and the company plans on adding one swapping station for every kilometer by December.

Basically, in a typical Electric vehicle, every 1,200-1,300 charge cycles, you have to replace the batteries and there will be a replacement cost to bear every three years.

Zuinik claims that with their EVs one need not own the battery and worry about its maintenance as they can rent it from Zuinik for Rs 80 per swap, ride for about 55 km, and once they run out of range they can swap it at the nearest station.
It takes less than 3 minutes to swap the battery.

Zuinik will also take care of the registration process that includes getting a fresh registration certificate (RC) and a new green and white number plate mandated for electric vehicles. The entire process takes about 15 to 20 working days. The service is paid for in the registration fee, which goes to the local regional transport office (RTO).

By June 2022, the startup is expected to have a presence in major cities like Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Mumbai and Hyderabad that have a large density of IC-engine scooters.