Simple Energy Has Ambitious Plans To Beat Ola Electric

Bengaluru-based EV startup Simple Energy has announced ambitious plans to set up what it claims will be the world’s largest electric two-wheeler factory in Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. To this end, the company has signed an MoU with the Tamil Nadu government to invest up to Rs 2,500 crore over the next five years.

As part of its Phase 1 operations, Simple Energy is building a plant with an annual capacity of 1 million units in Shoolagiri, Hosur (Tamil Nadu). It will be operational by early next year, and this is where the Simple One electric scooter will be produced. Expect deliveries to commence once the plant is ready. The scooter was launched on August 15 this year, priced at Rs 1,09,999 (ex-showroom, Bengaluru).

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Additionally, as per the new MoU, Simple Energy will commit Rs 1,000 crore to build its second factory (under the second phase of operations) in Dharmapuri. This plant is intended to be ready by 2023, and Simple Energy also plans to include an R&D center and a vendor park to streamline the supply chain.

While its future plans certainly seem promising, we hope Simple Energy can deliver on them. Back in August, the company claimed the Simple One was launched in 13 states: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Punjab. The company also plans to install over 300 charging stations across these states over seven months. We’ve yet to hear about the status of these, but more importantly, waiting for almost half a year for deliveries to commence isn’t really comforting.