Committed to delivering 40,000 Matter Aera e-motorcycles within 2024: CEO
- With nearly 40,000 bookings for the Matter Aera electric motorcycle, CEO Mohal Lalbhai says they are committed at delivering the e-bike at the original price, while they aim to to sell over one lakh units by March 2025.
Its maiden offering near production, ads with popular actor Vicky Kaushal and Flipkart as its booking platform, all seemed to go as planned for Ahmedabad-based EV start-up Matter and the Aera electric motorcycle. However, the revised FAME II subsidy threw a wrench in plans and the company has been keeping a low profile since. Nearly a year later, Matter is gearing up to begin deliveries in March 2024 and says it is fully committed to delivering the initial 40,000 pre-bookings.
Speaking exclusively to HT Auto, Mohal Lalbhai, CEO and co-founder - Matter, said that the start-up is roaring to bring the Aera to the masses and is ready to deliver its maiden offering. “It’s a promise we’ve made and we will be delivering the same. We consider these customers the lucky ones. We weren’t expecting this kind of demand. 40,000 [bookings] in a month was not something that we were expecting. All we had was Vicky Kaushal ads and Flipkart as a platform to go out. But 40,000 took us by surprise."
Also Read : Matter launches Aera electric motorcycle in India
Matter Aera: Special price for the first 40,000 customers
Prices were originally announced on March 1, 2023, between ₹1.44 lakh for Aera 5000 and ₹1.54 lakh for Aera 5000+ (ex-showroom as per older FAME II subsidy). However, the revised FAME II subsidy structure increased prices across the segment.
The Aera range is now priced between ₹1.74 lakh and ₹1.84 lakh (ex-showroom, revised FAME II subsidy). While Matter does not say if the initial pre-bookings will get the e-bike at the older price, the company conveys that the early-bird customers will get a special price at the time of delivery. With only 300 cancellations out of the initial 40,000 pre-bookings, Matter is confident that customers are willing to stay.
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Lalbhai added, “We would like to honour the first set of 40,000 bookings as early as practically possible. Once deliveries start, we want to ramp up as soon as practically possible. And that’s why we are reworking the entire supply chain. We had given certain projections to our suppliers that had to be recalibrated. It was a six-month exercise of just calibration because once we start deliveries, we don’t want to trickle [down]. The core idea is we want to give consumers what they want as soon as we can."
Matter Aera: Specifications
The Matter Aera will be the first motorcycle to go on sale in India to get a liquid-cooled battery and motor, and also a mechanical 4-speed gearbox. The unit packs a 5 kWh battery with a claimed range of 125 km on a single charge. The e-bike uses a 10 kW (13.4 bhp) electric motor with four riding modes. Matter claims 0-60 kmph in 6 seconds with a top speed of 105 kmph. The e-motorcycle will also come equipped with a 7-inch touchscreen Android-based digital console bringing a host of features to the offering.
Matter's upcoming manufacturing facility in Ahmedabad was initially planned for a capacity of producing 60,000 units in a single shift per annum. The company is now working towards adding a second shift taking the peak capacity to 1.2 lakh units annually. The focus for the next two to three years, Lalbhai says, will be on meeting the requirements in India with exports planned at a later stage. The company anticipates strong demand for its entry-level electric motorcycles and is already making plans for a second plant that will be operational by 2025.
Matter: Future Launches
Lalbhai explains that the 125 - 180 cc segment is about a two-million-strong segment and the company is aiming to capture at least a quarter of it with its electric motorcycles. The Aera is only the first of the many products planned. Even before the launch of its maiden e-bike, Matter unveiled the EXE and UT concepts at the 2023 Auto Expo, previewing low-cost commuter electric motorcycles. The production versions of the EXE and UT are well over a year away from hitting showrooms.
“The EXE (Executive) and UT concepts have been built around the swapping concept but the Utility (UT) as a product has been designed as a multi-purpose platform. You can use it for off-roading, you can put on panniers, and you can potentially use it for cargo. The EXE has been designed as a bridge between the 125 cc and 180 cc motorcycles. The EXE will give you the kick and punch but still give the convenience of [battery] swapping. It is making the ecosystem well-established between 125 and 180 cc space," says Lalbhai.
Matter Aera: Dealerships
The company will focus on introducing brick-and-mortar dealerships, albeit with a completely digital buying experience. “In India, we look at service before product. That is where dealerships are the core pivotal point for us in terms of consumer outreach. In India, we really go for touch and feel," he says.
Matter is gearing up to introduce its first showroom later this month. The outlet will be located in the brand’s home city Ahmedabad and will be inaugurated by the end of January. The company will begin expanding from cities in Rajasthan and Maharashtra, and then move to Delhi and Bengaluru among other parts of the country.