Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma is launching e-bike brand

After tasting initial success as co-founder of home-grown handset maker, Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma is going solo for his next venture that would manufacture electric vehicles.

Sharma is planning to launch the first electric motorcycle under the new entity in the next few months. He intends to disrupt the two-wheeler industry by providing an electric alternative to petrol-run products from conventional two-wheeler biggies such as Hero Moto, Bajaj Auto and TVS.

"This will not only be an environmentally-efficient product but will provide hugely low running-cost to the users,"  said Sharma to TOI. For the project, Micromax co-founder has built an R&D team comprising 45 members.

The motorcycle will be produced at Manesar unit, which is 1-lakh square feet facility. The factory will make the EV control unit, whereas battery cells and two-wheeler motor will be imported.

Sharma has poured in about Rs 500 crore into the new venture.

He aims to kick off the selling of e-motorcycle by June-end. The sales model will comprise both franchisee outlets as well as online platforms, he added.

With the central government sops and benefits push for EV adoption, Sharma finds EV business in India as one of the next big things in the coming years.

Earlier last year, Micromax had reportedly planned to foray into electric vehicles and battery manufacturing segment after it witnessed a sharp drop in mobile phones business after its initial success.

The Gurugram-based firm has reported 26 per cent downfall in revenues in FY 18. Micromax profits declined by 76 per cent to Rs 104 crore.

Founded in 2000, Micromax became a huge hit with smartphone users in India. In its early years, the handset maker dominated the home turf with greater sales than global players in the country.

However, there on, it could not keep up with the market demands. Micromax failed to grasp the fundamental market shifts in the India handset market. The major shift happened in the 2016-17 period when Micromax lost focus in the market by going after 3G phone market when everybody was after the next-generation phone market.

Whereas Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo, through an aggressive approach with 4G devices made significant headway in the country.