Twenty Two Motors: Going with the Flow

After 15 years of working with some of the top automobile companies in the world, Parveen Kharb decided to turn entrepreneur. In 2016, he started Twenty Two Motors with friend and co-founder Vijay Chandrawat. This year, it showcased its first product, Flow, an electric scooter, which will be available for order from April 2019.

Recently, Kharb struck a deal with Taiwan’s Kwang Yang Motor Co or Kymco. It will invest $65 million in Twenty Two Motors and hold more than 25 percent stake in the Gurugram-based startup. It will see the Indian venture share tech platforms and expertise with Taiwan’s largest and the world’s fourth biggest electric scooter maker.

“The electric scooter industry in India isn’t offering what the Indian consumer is in need of,” says Kharb. “That was our first challenge—how do we bring down the charging time to match what it takes to fill up a gasoline scooter or even less.”

With Flow, Twenty Two Motors plans to address the issue by having two swappable batteries. While one runs the scooter, the other would be on reserve. There is also a third, non-removable “core battery, with which one can go around 20 km” even while the main, swappable batteries are parked at a charging station, says Kharb.

Twenty Two Motors expects to set up 100 charging stations in Delhi and Bengaluru. The company has its manufacturing plant in Rajasthan, and the factory can roll out 100,000 scooters a year. Over the next three years, Kharb plans to sell half a million scooters.