Okinawa to invest ₹150 crore to set up new manufacturing unit in Rajasthan

Electric two-wheeler maker Okinawa Autotech plans to invest ₹150 crore in setting up a new manufacturing unit in Rajasthan, and roll out fresh products as it sets a target of selling 1 lakh units in the next fiscal year, according to a top company official.

The company, which had recently launched B2B electric two-wheeler - Okinawa Dual, priced at ₹58,998, targeting the delivery sector, expects sales from the segment to account for around 20 per cent of its total sales.

"We are coming up with a new facility and new products. The total investment in the next fiscal year will be around ₹150 crore," Okinawa Autotech Managing Director and Founder Jeetender Sharma told PTI.

The new manufacturing unit will be near the company's existing plant in Rajasthan.

"The new facility will have an annual capacity of 5-6 lakh units in the first phase and can go up to 10 lakh units in future," Sharma added.

When asked about new products, he said the company is targeting both the B2B and B2C segment.

Last week, Okinawa Autotech launched its Okinawa Dual, powered by a 250 Watt electric motor with 48W 55Ah detachable lithium-ion battery with a range of 130 km on a single charge. It has a top speed of 25 kmph.

Sharma said the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the rise of e-commerce and last-mile deliveries. It has become imperative for businesses in the delivery segment to innovate, reduce operational costs, and increase efficiency consistently, and Okinawa Dual will address that need.

The company will launch its high-speed motorcycle codenamed OKI100 in the first half of this year, he added.

On the sales front, he said Okinawa Autotech would close in on cumulative sales of around 1 lakh units by the end of the ongoing fiscal since it started operations in 2017.

"In FY 21-22, whatever we have done so far, we will double the number with the coming in of two-three new models. It is a fair estimate that we will sell around 1 lakh units next fiscal," Sharma said.

Of the total, he said the B2B segment would account for around 20 per cent.

Bullish on the electric two-wheeler segment's growth, Sharma said with the transition to BS-VI emission norms, prices for conventional scooters and motorcycles have gone up, thereby reducing the gap with electric counterparts, and Okinawa Autotech has focussed on localisation to be cost-competitive.

"We have more than 92 per cent localisation till date. In the next quarter, we are going to be 100 per cent," Sharma said, adding although the battery cells coming from outside the company have a dedicated supplier in India supplying it the battery packs.