Subrata Roy’s Sahara Group Forays Into EV Space

Subrata Roy’s Sahara group has introduced a platform under the brand name ‘Sahara Evols‘ to capitalise on the demand for green mobility. As the government of India looks to green its transport fleet and states with their EV policies shift towards electric mobility solutions for public and private transportation, reports confirm that a variety of electric scooters, motorcycles, three-wheelers, and cargo vehicles have been ideated by the firm. It is also reported that Sahara was introducing a network of battery charging-cum-swapping stations.

Subrata Roy, is quoted on the company website saying “The world today is going through one of its worst environmental crisis. One of the leading causes of pollution in our country is vehicle emission and here came the thought of Electric Vehicles.” “I am proud to introduce SAHARA EVOLS – a range of Electric Vehicles that will not only offer an eco-friendly transport solution for our citizens but also make their daily commuting easy and pocket-friendly.”

Starting with Lucknow, Sahara would establish the EV charging and vehicle service ecosystem in tier II and tier III cities, mostly in North India, by the end of this financial year, in a phased manner. The company has plans to go pan-India with the EV platform in the next financial year.

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“Basically, we have started a platform for electric vehicles. Like Ola and Uber do not own any vehicles, we don’t own any EV manufacturing facility or the EVs. We are working with various partners who are manufacturing and supplying EVs as per our specifications and these will be sold, serviced and charged through our platform,” said Aditya Banerjee, CEO, Sahara Evols.

He said the vehicles run on advanced electric motors and drivetrain designed and developed by German engineering. The vehicles are powered by dry, lithium-ion batteries which have a longer life. These batteries are fast charging, with up to 40% charging achieved in one hour which can provide enough power to cover between 55 km – 150 km distance on a single charge, depending on the type and category, the company said. “The cost of driving these vehicles, on an average, can go to as low as 20 paise per kilometer against the cost of ₹2 per kilometer for petrol vehicles,” the company said.

The company had already started developing the service set-up in Lucknow district, its first target market, with the setting up of 57 service centers as well as providing training to the technicians for electric vehicles.