Decoding the e-axle motor technology on the BNC Perfetto electric scooter
- We recently caught up with Naoya Nishimura, CEO - Musashi India and Africa Region, and Anirudh Ravi Narayanan, CEO - BNC, to understand more about the partnership and the e-axle technology powering the new Perfetto electric scooter.
Coimbatore-based BNC Motors recently announced the launch of its new Perfetto electric scooter. The company, five years young in the electric mobility segment, is aiming to capture the personal electric scooter market with its latest offering. The BNC Perfetto promises quintessential scooter styling, dollops of practicality, and a reliable powertrain sourced from partner Musashi. We recently caught up with Naoya Nishimura, CEO - Musashi India and Africa Region, and Anirudh Ravi Narayanan, CEO - BNC, to understand more about the partnership and the e-axle technology powering the new Perfetto.
Musashi is one of the oldest automotive component manufacturers globally and has worked with brands like Honda, Ford, General Motors, Audi, BMW, Fiat, Triumph, JLR, and more. The company’s latest partnership with BNC marks a new chapter as it strengthens its presence in the electric mobility segment in India. Both companies collaborated over three years ago, which led to the production of the e-axle for electric two-wheelers. The Perfetto is the first product from BNC to get the same.
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BNC’s Anirudh says that the company was looking for reliable technology to power its electric scooter. “When we look at the [scooter] segment today, it is a family-driven space. Both men and women ride the same scooter in a household pre-dominantly in the 125 cc segment," he explains.
For a perfect family electric scooter, Narayanan says factors like styling, practicality, and functionality are extremely important. The brand opted for Italian-inspired styling on the Perfetto, reminiscent of the designs seen on the Lambrettas and Vespas of the sixties and seventies.
Why choose an e-axle motor?
The e-axle motor seemed like a viable option with reliability at the centre of the requirements. Naoya Nishimura explains that the e-axle motor is side-mounted, which makes it much easier to package when compared to hub-mounted and mid-drive motors available on other offerings. The compact unit allows better packaging in terms of space without compromising on the speed and torque of the scooter.
The e-axle motor helps the BNC Perfetto to attain a top speed of 80 kmph. The e-scooter accelerates from 0-40 kmph in 4 seconds and is powerful enough to handle gradients up to 16 degrees. Nishimura san further explains that the company derived learnings for its e-axle motor by making multiple components for the auto sector over the years. This includes everything from gearboxes to components for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). The brand has a tie-up with Delta Electronics in Taiwan and a partnership with Toyota Tsusho. The learnings from these collaborations have helped the auto player build the e-axle motor.
BNC says scooters are subjected to multiple use cases in India and that’s why reliability is a core factor that needs to be integrated into the scooter. The company wants its customers to use the Perfetto in the same way as they would use another 125 cc family scooter.
Expectations from India
Both Musashi and BNC are betting with the Perfetto. BNC is looking to expand its presence with 100 new dealerships by the end of the year, of which 70 will be ready by March. The brand is also planning to export the electric scooter to multiple markets across the country, while exports are already on the horizon. BNC already exports the Challenger electric two-wheeler from its stable and has confirmed that it will soon upgrade the Challenger to the e-axle motor for export markets.
For Musashi, the booming electric mobility segment makes for a good business case. The boost from the government with the PLI scheme among other incentives aims to encourage local manufacturing. This would mean more accessible components and lowered costs not just for electric motors but batteries as well.
Musashi and BNC are also collaborating on batteries. Narayanan explains that having a major component player on board gives the manufacturer a major. It helps expedite product development, R&D, and more. BNC has a 250,000 sq.ft. manufacturing facility with a capacity of 15,000 units per month. It’s ready to address the growing demand with plenty of space to expand its manufacturing capabilities. A major chunk of BNC’s business comes from exports at the moment.
When asked about what could be done better to boost the electric mobility space at large, both Musashi and BNC agreed on GST support. EV components are currently taxed at 18 per cent as against 5 per cent on EVs. A more standardised GST structure at 5 per cent for both would be beneficial to component manufacturers and automakers alike.
Check out Upcoming EV Bikes in India.
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