"THE ROLES OF Our Company And Dealers Are DISTINCT And COMPLEMENTARY"

In recent months, Godawari Electric Motors has opened several new showrooms across India, with plans for further expansion. In a conversation with EFY’s Nitisha, Hyder Ali Khan from Godawari Electric Motors Private Limited, outlines the criteria for selecting dealers and their roles in the EV industry.

- HYDER ALI KHAN

What is your company’s approach to vehicle assembly?

Assembly is entirely conducted in-house. However, like most automobile industries today, we operate on an asset-light business model. We manufacture certain components, such as our body and other parts specifically designed and developed for us. We source from top manufacturers to assemble into our vehicles other key components like the powertrain, lighting systems, wheels, batteries, and chargers.

How long and costly is vehicle development?

Creating a vehicle from scratch, including conceptualisation, design, thorough testing, and validation, typically spans around two years per vehicle. From the initial stages to launch, it usually takes 18 months to two years, with an approximate cost of ten crores (100 million rupees). However, if you opt for reverse engineering, sourcing parts from China or India and assembling them, you can cut the development time to six months with an investment of one crore. But, there will be a noticeable disparity in performance between the fully developed vehicle and the one assembled through reverse engineering.

What are the design and vendor standards?