High-speed Growth

JEETENDER SHARMA, MD & FOUNDER OF OKINAWA AUTOTECH, IS DRIVING INDIA’S ELECTRIC TWO-WHEELER MARKET BY MAKING HIGH-SPEED SCOOTERS AT AFFORDABLE PRICE, WITH ALMOST 100 PERCENT LOCALISATION.

- SYED AMEEN KADER

OKINAWA IS AN INDIAN ELECTRIC TWO WHEELER manufacturing company that some may mistake it to be a Japanese firm as it shares the name with a Japanese Island.

And, no; it doesn’t have any Japanese or Chinese collaboration either.

The founder of the Delhi-based e-scooter manufacturer, Jeetender Sharma, who once visited Okinawa during the early days of his career, was in awe of the island as it’s said to have the longest lifespan in the world, thanks to close to the zero pollution levels. “The trip to Okinawa Islands is what inspired me to look at manufacturing electric vehicles,” says Sharma, who decided to name his company after the island and founded Okinawa Autotech in 2015 with a vision of creating a healthy environment.

However, at that time electric two wheelers that run on slow-speed lead-acid batteries weren't seen as a viable alternative to Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) powered petrol scooters. That’s why Sharma, a mechanical engineer with a stint of close to 14 years at Honda Scooters & Motorcycles, working across different verticals including quality management, market intelligence and research and development, utilised his initial two years of company formation for travelling to different parts of India to do research and take people’s opinions on electric vehicles.

“The first step we took was to break several prevalent myths about EVs among consumers and other stakeholders.” He explains some of these myths were around the possible speed of electric vehicles, the range anxiety (how far does it travel on a recharge cycle), and the performance of any product (weight carrying capacity, traveling on the rough Indian roads, etc.).