Almost all the auto makers are now eyeing an electric vehicle lineup for their global portfolio. That has not made EVs any less expensive though, primarily due to the expensive lithium ion batteries powering them. There is one business model in discussion now, which might make having your own EV more viable.
Evelozcity, a U.S. based electric vehicle startup which recently changed its name to Canoo has now announced that it will be offering a range of EVs to private as well as commercial customers only on a subscription basis. For this, the firm will be putting up a variety of subscriptions based on the duration for which the vehicle is attained.
Some of these subscription models will even be bundled with insurance and other related services. Canoo, however, has not provided any details on the pricing of these models as of now.
(Representative Image: Reuters)
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Through the subscription models, Canoo will be marketing a four-model range complete with personal commuter and "lifestyle" vehicles as well as commercial vehicles for ride and delivery services.
The firm is eyeing a "boutique California EV brand" tag, with its sales starting in the US in 2021. The next market on the company¡¯s radar is China, with the startup already raising $1 billion for it through sources unmentioned.
With former executives of SAIC Motor, Uber and STMicroelectronics onboard, the firm is eyeing a lean operation, depending on a contract manufacturer to assemble its vehicles. Going forward, the firm is also aiming to incorporate autonomous technology in its vehicles.
(Representative Image: Reuters)
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Will it work for India?
The firm has actually come up with an interesting model here. As per Canoo's website, it promises to take care of your registration charges as well as insurance within its subscription models. In addition, it will also be taking care of the post sale maintenance services and even roadside assistance of the vehicle. The most convenient part, however, is that you can?avail all of this just through an app on your smartphone.
Apart from the subscription models taking care of every practical expenditure related to owning a car, the vehicles to be offered by the firm look promising too. Canoo says that it has gone for an unorthodox built of vehicles for its users. Based on its skateboard platform, the vehicles will be focused on the interiors and providing space to the commuters inside, rather than incorporating useless space on the chassis. What's more, the company has also offered its users to design their own vehicle as they want.?
As as an end consumer, the idea of being able to create our own vehicle design and the fact that we can have it in a subscription based model without the hassles of attaining the insurance or other related services by ourselves looks seems to be quite attractive. First, with the high prices of electric vehicles, the breakdown of the payment might come as a big plus for buyers. The convenience added to that through the business model might turn out to be the pushing factor that an increased EV adoption in India needs.?
(With inputs from Reuters)