EXCLUSIVE: Can This Be Mahindra's First E-scooter For India?

Once again, the boys at ZigWheels have brought to you some exclusive content. This time, we snooped on what seemed to be the Peugeot Kisbee on our roads. 

We saw two mules, one of which was an ICE one and the other was an electric one. The Peugeot Kisbee itself is a 50cc scooter, so no points for guessing what the ICE mule was. The other scooter, which was spotted without a handlebar cowl, was an electric scooter seemingly based on the Kisbee, similar to what Suzuki is doing with the Burgman Electric. The test mules were spotted with the Ather 450X and the Bounce Infinity E1 beside them, which could be used for benchmarking purposes. 

That said, Peugeot’s e-scooter will not have performance levels to match the Ather. Its performance is likely to be on par with the Bounce Infinity E1 and Peugeot could be benchmarking it against the Ather 450X in terms of features. It’s unlikely to get swappable batteries too, for it requires extensive chassis engineering. 

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What exactly is the relationship between Peugeot and Mahindra? Well, Mahindra and Mahindra actually has a 51 percent stake in the company. In fact, Peugeot also displayed a couple of concepts at EICMA a couple of years ago with the Mahindra Mojo 300’s engines. In fact, So Mahindra could be intending to bring Peugeot to India with the Kisbee. Internationally, the KIsbee’s 49.9cc two-stroke mill makes 3.53PS and 3.2Nm. That said, expect the electric avatar of the Kisbee to offer performance equivalent to electric scooters like the Hero Electric Optima. The petrol-powered Kisbee rolls on 12-inch wheels, has a disc brake at the front, drum ones at the rear and a 90kg wet weight. 

Given how happening the electric scooter market is in India right now, Mahindra could very well be looking to capture a chunk of the market share. That said, Mahindra is likely to position the Peugeot as a premium brand. Mahindra could also make use of its existing Mojo dealerships or come up with its own dealerships in a few select cities. We will hence, have to wait and watch how Mahindra prices the e-scooter if it ever plans to launch it here.