Chennai-based EV startup Raptee.HV today launched India’s first high-voltage electric motorcycle, the T 30. The motorcycle is the first in India to adopt universal charging standards used by electric cars and can deliver a performance rivalling the 250-300 cc ICE counterparts with significantly less heat.

The motorcycle comes with an onboard charger, making it compatible with the 13,500 CCS2 car charging stations available across the country. Claiming an IDC Est range of around 200 km and a real-world range of over 150 km on a single charge, the motorcycle can accelerate from 0 to 60 kmph in under 3.5 seconds. The motorcycle comes with an IP67-rated battery pack, with an 8-year/80,000-km warranty, providing peace of mind and long-term value to customers.

The motorcycle will come in four dynamic colours – Horizon Red, Arctic White, Mercury Grey and Eclipse Black – for a price tag of INR 239,000. The deliveries will commence in Chennai and Bangalore from January, with plans to expand to other key cities based on the propensity for mid-premium motorcycles and the adoption of electric mobility in these selected markets.

Raptee.HV is also coming up with a factory-integrated experience centre, dubbed the ‘Tech store.HV’, at its Chennai headquarters to offer full immersive experiences to its customers, which includes a factory tour to show how motorcycles are being built. To ensure a seamless customer experience, Raptee.HV will also have a wide range of direct-to-consumer offerings.

Dinesh Arjun, Co-founder & CEO, Raptee.HV, said, “Our goal was never to create an electric version of an ICE motorcycle, but to do justice to motorcycling with truly pioneering tech. We have taken the core of advanced electric car tech and engineered it for motorcycles. Launching India’s first high-voltage electric motorcycle was a technical challenge from the very beginning. Over the last five years, the amazing team at Raptee has had to build the entire architecture from scratch to make HV on 2Wheelers possible. That we have succeeded is a testament to what can be achieved with the right vision and a focus on innovation. We believe our HV technology is the missing piece of the puzzle that will accelerate the electrification of motorcycles and revolutionise how motorcycles will be built in the future.”

Jayapradeep Vasudevan, CBO, Raptee.HV, said, “We are extremely excited to witness the passion and innovation coming to life as we launch our first motorcycle, setting new standards in the electric two-wheeler industry. The Indian motorcycle market is twice the size of the scooter market, and the low EV penetration in this larger segment presents a huge opportunity for us to explore, starting with our flagship model, the T30. As a team, we are fully committed to building the Raptee.HV brand by delivering a customer experience that matches the high standards of our motorcycles. In today’s context, automobiles, especially electric vehicles, are increasingly becoming electronics and software-driven, much like consumer durable products. With this in mind, we are inspired by premium consumer durable brands in shaping our approach to customer service. We plan to introduce a wide range of digital and direct-to-consumer offerings to ensure that our customers enjoy a seamless ownership journey with Raptee.HV. Our network expansion will be rolled out in phases, starting with company-owned experience centres in Chennai and Bangalore. By learning from these initial markets, we will strategically expand into other regions and international markets at the right time over the next few years. We have a clear strategic roadmap for the next five years and aim to become a significant player in EV industry in the years to come.”

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Maruti Suzuki India Limited has officially commenced deliveries of its first all-electric offering, the e VITARA, heralding a significant advancement in the nation's transition to sustainable transportation. The company has introduced a range of innovative ownership schemes designed to make electric vehicles more financially accessible. Chief among these is the Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) model, a dual-loan product that removes the substantial upfront cost of the battery, with the vehicle priced from INR 1,099,000 plus a usage-based battery rental of INR 3.99 per kilometre. Complementing this is the ‘e Flex’ scheme, which allows customers to upgrade to the e VITARA while maintaining an EMI similar to their existing car. To further enhance customer confidence, Maruti Suzuki is offering assured buyback plans, guaranteeing up to 60 percent of the vehicle's value after three years or 45,000 kilometres and 50 percent after four years or 60,000 kilometres.

The e VITARA is engineered for a carefree ownership experience, backed by comprehensive warranty coverage. It is available with two battery pack options, 61kWh and 49kWh (with a claimed driving range of up to 543 kilometres, both of which come with an industry-standard warranty of eight years or up to 160,000 kilometres. The vehicle itself carries a standard three-year warranty, with the option to extend coverage up to eight years on a payable basis.

In terms of safety and technology, the e VITARA is equipped with advanced features as standard. It incorporates Level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), which include functionalities like Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist and Automatic Emergency Braking. Passive safety is addressed with seven airbags, including a driver-side knee airbag, as standard equipment. The vehicle is built on the HEARTECT-e platform, which utilises over 60 percent high-tensile and ultra-high-tensile strength steel and features an advanced battery protection system. This robust construction has helped the e VITARA achieve a comprehensive five-star safety rating from Bharat NCAP. The driving experience is further enhanced by the next-generation Suzuki Connect telematics system, which offers over 60 connected features. Customers can book the e VITARA at any NEXA showroom or through the official website with an initial payment of INR 21,000.

Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said, “Maruti Suzuki’s EV strategy has been developed to ensure that the e VITARA becomes the primary EV choice for customers. The e VITARA offers a commendable driving range of over 543 km, supported by ‘e for me’ charging ecosystem that mirrors the reliability our customers have trusted for decades. With over 1,500 EV-ready service centres, specially trained NEXA EV relationship managers and dedicated charging managers, the e VITARA offers complete peace-of-mind. We are also introducing attractive flexible ownership plans with BaaS, alongside exclusive benefits for early adopters that make the e VITARA an irresistible proposition.”

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Bengaluru-based energy technology company Exponent Energy has unveiled Exponent One, a comprehensive fintech and asset management initiative designed to overcome a significant obstacle in commercial electric vehicle adoption: the challenge of securing practical and accessible financing. This new venture will be led by Sandeep Divakaran, an experienced professional in financing and mobility who joins as Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer.

Exponent Energy has established a comprehensive energy ecosystem for commercial EVs by tackling critical issues such as rapid charging, dependable battery performance and consistent operational uptime. This work has yielded deep, real-world energy intelligence within the commercial mobility sector. Although EV technology has progressed considerably, widespread adoption remains limited by financing hurdles. Exponent One directly confronts this issue with an advanced underwriting and asset management platform developed specifically for commercial EVs, drawing on the aforementioned energy insights. The primary goal is to achieve financing parity with internal combustion engine vehicles by providing flexible financial products and mitigating risk through assurances and buyback programmes.

By collaborating with established financial institutions, the new venture seeks to enable large-scale EV financing for commercial operators. Its focus will be exclusively on commercial electric vehicles, encompassing three-wheelers, light commercial vehicles, four-wheelers, buses and trucks. Support will extend to both individual driver-owners and fleet operators, covering the entire ownership journey from initial acquisition through lifecycle management to eventual upgrades. Leveraging Exponent’s energy intelligence, the platform employs an AI-driven adaptive financing model that facilitates access to livelihoods. It also integrates embedded insurance to protect against health and asset-related difficulties, while guaranteed buybacks help cultivate a robust secondary market, offering crucial reassurance to vehicle owners and financial partners. Additional features like savings options, supplementary loans and upgrade paths are intended to support drivers in their professional growth.

To accelerate its early deployment and broaden its footprint in key commercial EV centers, Exponent One has secured USD 2 million in pre-seed investment from AdvantEdge Founders, aiming to deliver its adaptive financing solutions to a greater number of driver-owners.

Sandeep said, “Commercial Vehicle driver-owners operate real-world businesses with daily variable earnings and limited buffers, yet lending models are still run on personal credit rails, with fixed monthly assumptions (EMIs). This rigid approach, focuses on only output metrics of timely payments, and hence fails the driver and leads to the ecosystem viewing commercial EV financing as risky. At Exponent One, we believe in something fundamental: if the driver-owner fails, the system fails. Our vision is to enable sustainable micro-entrepreneurship in electric mobility by building financing that adapts to real world earnings and not monthly averages, manages asset risk, provides buffers and gives drivers the confidence to switch and grow with EVs. Our adaptive lending model focuses on input metrics – asset quality, charging patterns, energy consumption – giving us the ability to differentiate between bad luck and bad intent and help support driver-owners through their circle of life.”

Arun Vinayak, Founder and CEO, Exponent Energy, said, “Energy in EVs is an upfront capex problem, hence viable-financing products are needed to transform this higher capex to meaningful opex benefits to the driver-owners. Electric Commercial Vehicles are fundamentally energy assets. Our ability to influence battery life and manage them on a daily basis with real-time energy data gives us an edge in understanding these assets better and in knowing their residual value. EVs are digital, earnings are digital and the energy stack with Exponent is digital, and all these input metrics, layered with innovations in AI tech, enhances our ability to contextually underwrite and support the driver-owners through their circle of life. This is a first of its kind partnership, with energy and financing coming together to provide integrated adaptive finance and asset management solutions. We’re excited to have Sandeep lead this effort to build the financial layer needed to address the commercial EV financing gap. Together, Exponent Energy will power the assets and Exponent One will power the driver-owner.”

Kunal Khattar, Founder, AdvantEdge Founders, said, “Commercial EV scale in India isn't just a technology challenge; it's a data and capital challenge. Lenders must understand how these assets actually earn and age to unlock true scale. At AdvantEdge, we’re backing Exponent One because they’ve replaced ICE-era assumptions with real-time operational intelligence, aligning financing with daily earnings and long-term asset performance. By building a durable financial layer tailored to the EV ownership lifecycle, they are addressing the core risk mismatches that have held this industry back. We believe this is the missing piece that will finally move electric fleets from pilot to mass adoption.”

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BYD, the world’s leading New Energy Vehicle (NEV) maker, has entered into an agreement with Manchester City Football Club as its Official Automotive Partner. This collaboration stands as one of the most prominent unions between a major technology enterprise and a premier football institution, reflecting a shared dedication to sustainability and a comprehensive model of innovation.

Under this multifaceted arrangement, BYD and its premium DENZA brand will supply a range of vehicles to the club. Its clean-energy expertise will also be integrated into the City Football Academy through the provision of vehicle charging systems and energy-storage batteries, supporting the elite training environment used by the men’s, women’s and youth squads. The partnership will be visibly marked across the club’s assets, including branding on the training kit sleeves of the men’s first team starting immediately, followed by the women’s team in the upcoming season. Matchday visibility at the Etihad Stadium will include BYD branding on dug-out headrests and a ceremonial lead car escorting the men’s team bus for all Premier League and domestic cup home fixtures.

This initiative represents a key milestone in BYD’s broader engagement with international football, following its sponsorships of the UEFA EURO 2024 and the UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2025. Through this partnership, BYD aims to strengthen global recognition of its brand and advanced technological offerings.

Stella Li, Executive Vice President, BYD, said, "Manchester City stands for excellence, innovation and the courage to push beyond limits – values that are deeply rooted in BYD’s DNA. This partnership is about more than football or mobility; it is about inspiring people around the world through technology that excites, connects and drives a more sustainable future. When innovation meets passion, the impact is truly global.”

Ferran Soriano, Chief Executive Officer, City Football Group, said, “BYD are global leaders within their field. Leaders in delivering excellence through technology and innovation. Leaders with purpose, to make the world a better place.  All values that Manchester City share. As a Club, we are driven by a commitment to excellence and a passion for innovation. We partner with industry leaders to create a more environmentally sustainable future, starting with our facilities. This is why we are so proud to be BYD’s chosen partner and commit to work together for a better and more sustainable future for the duration of this multi-year partnership.”

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Chennai-headquartered two-wheeler and three-wheeler major TVS Motor Company and its partner Exelentia have delivered two TVS iQube electric scooters to the Governorate of Vatican City State. The initiative supports the Vatican’s transition towards zero-emission mobility for its daily operations.

The delivery, completed on 5 February, stems from a collaboration between the Vatican and Exelentia focused on innovation and sustainability. The partnership involves TVS Motor Italia and aims to provide transport solutions that meet the requirements of the Vatican environment.

The TVS iQube was selected for its performance and noise-free operation. It comes with up to 100 km of claimed range in eco mode. Equipped with the SmartXonnect system, the e-scooter offers a connectivity option via a TFT display and a mobile application. Built for urban and short-range travel with a focus on ease of use and functional technology.

Giovanni Notarbartolo di Furnari, General Manager of TVS Motor Italia, stated, “The deployment of TVS iQube electric scooters in a prestigious setting such as the Vatican validates our vision for urban electric mobility—anchored in reliability, intuitive usability, and world class quality.” 

Giovanni Zappia, Founder & Owner, Exelentia, added, “The partnership undertaken with the Governorate of the State of the Vatican City strengthens Exelentia’s commitment to contributing concretely to mature, reliable mobility fully suited to particularly sensitive urban and institutional contexts.”

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