Oben EV: India’s first Woman-led EV Start-up

Oben EV is an electric vehicle company that manufactures electric 2-wheelers in-house using indigenously developed components in order to deliver high-quality products to the Indian market.

Madhumita Agrawal and Dinkar Agrawal founded OBEN Electric Pvt. Ltd. in August 2020, making it India’s first woman-led EV company.

Oben’s vision is to become the market leader by developing reliable, performance-oriented, and connected electric 2-wheelers with world-class designs for customers.

Its solid foundation is laid by an extraordinary team of people who bring successful entrepreneurial experience as well as hands-on expertise in developing and manufacturing electric 2-wheelers, as well as the complementary skill sets required for success.

The brand claims that their products are unisex, meaning that they are suitable for men, women and families.

Venturing into the Indian EV space as a homegrown startup, Oben Electric revealed its upcoming Oben Rorr electric bike, which will debut in the Indian market in April, with deliveries beginning in Q2′ 2022.

The Oben Rorr electric bike claims a top speed of 100 kmph and a range of 200 kms from its class-leading battery pack. Furthermore, the company stated that the price range for the new Oben Rorr electric bike will be competitive, ranging between Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 1.50 lakhs.

Furthermore, Oben has announced that their premium e-scooter OBEN will be available for purchase after July 2022.

We will enter different product segments and categories — motorcycles and scooters — but for the time being, we are only focusing on motorcycles and will reveal details about the rest of our products in the coming days,” said Madhumita Agrawal, Co-Founder of Oben EV.

Oben EV has yet to release a charging station roadmap.

Apart from announcing its plans to compete in a market dominated by two-wheeler majors such as Bajaj, Hero MotoCorp, TVS, and emerging names such as Ola Electric and Ather, Oben EV has remained mysteriously silent about its sales, service, and EV charging station plans.

The company has stated that it intends to install its own charging stations as well as those developed through strategic partnerships.

Oben EV, on the other hand, has currently refused to reveal how many charging stations it intends to build, how many dealerships it intends to open, or what its service network will look like in the near to medium term. It has not provided information on its next three products, capacity utilisation, or sales projections.

Also Read: Top electric scooters with high range in India

“Our current focus is on bringing things together as we take a step-by-step approach in servicing customers first, and then taking things up a notch,” the Co-founder explained. “We expect customers to put their trust in us only after we have disclosed these numbers.”

We Founder Circle, based in Upstate New York, recently led a $2.5 million seed round for the company (WFC). According to co-founder Madhumita Agrawal, this is the largest funding secured by an electric two-wheeler startup.

Rorr is priced at Rs 1,02,999 (Ex-showroom).

“In terms of price, performance, or design, our product must be ICE-comparable.”

When asked about how does the company intend to compete with larger names in the electric two-wheeler market?

“We are a young startup in a huge market,” Madhumita explains. “We believe that any company that develops a good product while meeting consumer needs has a place here.”

“If customers have a good range on their electric bikes, they can always come home and re-charge for their daily commute,” Madhumita says, referring to the Rorr’s 200 kms range, when asked about the battery swapping technology in their electric vehicles.

Also read: Top two wheeled electric scooters in India