Toutche Electric unveils plan to strengthen R&D, manufacturing ops in Mysuru

Mumbai: Bangalore-based micro-mobility startup Toutche Electric on Monday announced its plans to strengthen its R&D and manufacturing capabilities at Mysuru in Karnataka.

Toutche’s manufacturing and technology units are spread across Mysuru and Bengaluru, with a current capacity to make 12,000 e-bikes a year.

The startup manufactures and sells the Heileo range of power bicycles.

The company said it has been developing its Connected Experience Platform since late 2019, which underpins the Heileo Connected eBikes slated to go into Beta later this year.

Toutche continues to build on its capabilities in hardware, firmware, location services and cloud technologies, it said, adding, it also aims to accelerate its factory of the future, with Industry 4.0 foundational technologies applied across the supply chain.

The new facility will have a capacity of 25,000 ebikes/year with a scope to expand to over 100,000 ebikes/year, the company said in a release.

Stating that its roadmap is in sync with PM Modi Narendra Modi’s vision of Aatmanirbhar vision for India, the company said, under this plan, it has also laid out a roadmap to unveil its new products – the first fully Connected eBike, designed and manufactured in India by the second quarter of next year.

Toutche aims to set up an end-to-end eBike ecosystem in the country right from the concept stage to design, product engineering, technology development as well as manufacturing to fuel the adoption and acceptance of EVs in India, it said in a release.

By expanding its resources and team working on its connected experience (CX) platform and engineering and design function, Toutche sets the direction on future product development strategies, it said.

“The pandemic has taught us to be self-reliant. The current EV ecosystem in India is challenged and heavily reliant on imports. So, when we say ”Make-in India”, it is not just about manufacturing in India, but most importantly engineering and designing, which are the foundational blocks before we set out to manufacture anything,” said Raghu Kerakatty, Founder-CEO, Toutche Electric.

Making in India is hence a longer and more challenging option to take than importing. However, it builds business capabilities, self-reliance and control on its supply chain and differentiated products in the markets, he said.

He added: In line with this, that the company is building its Technology (CX) Platform and electric drive train to begin with and will expand into accessories and other key parts of the bike in the future.

The company said it is focused on building differentiated Intellectual Property and Indigenous designs, charting the course for India’s electric vehicle growth.