The launch of the new products is in line with the growing demand for e-bikes in India,triggered by the rising awareness of a healthy and active lifestyle. GoZero’s CEO, Ankit Kumar, said, “The pandemic has triggered and propelled the need for people to take health seriously. We have seen a sudden increase in e-bike sales globally. Our core aim at GoZero is to continuously develop exceptional products that become an aid for people to adopt an active lifestyle. We are launching the Pro version of Skellig, launching our Make.Fit series of active performance wear and releasing our new toll-free lines for our customers.”

Headquartered in Birmingham, the company entered the Indian market in April 2019 with the launch of two e-bikes. To introduce the products in the market, GoZero has partnered up with Kirti Solar based in Kolkata, for the development and manufacturing of current and future products, utilising the global supply chain to “Make in India”. As a part of the association, Kirti Solar has invested USD 250,000 in GoZero Mobility.

Skellig is powered by the EnerDrive 210Wh lithium battery pack (800 cycles), 250W motor and comes with several modes including Throttle Mode, 5-level Peddle-Assist Mode, Walk Mode, and Cruise Mode. The model has an alloy stem handle and features 26x1.95 tyres and a premium counter-body suspension fork.

Skellig Lite combines the EnerDrive 210 Wh lithium battery pack (800 cycles) and 250W motor with three modes. It features an alloy stem handle, with 26x1.95 tyres, specialised V-brakes and an independent rigid suspension fork. Both the models have a maximum speed of 25 kmph with a range of 25 km on a single charge.The EnerDrive Battery packs can be charged in just 2.5 hours.

The company has also introduced a Pro version which is a hybrid e-bike for off-roading and city commute both. Powered by EnerDrive 400 Wh lithium battery pack (2000 cycles), it is supported by a composite mild steel frame, 7-speed gear system with an advanced front suspension fork, an alloy stem handle and disc brakes for both wheels.

Besides, it has Control Version 4.0 LCD and a flashlight with a guide-me-home enabled lighting system. The maximum speed of this model is 25 kmph and powers through for 70 km range in a single charge, which takes around three hours to recharge from 0-95 percent.

According to Kumar, the e-bike market in India is growing three folds every year. Last year 6,000 units were sold, of which the company had a share of 30 percent. This year, the industry sees tremendous growth due to focus on health and social distancing, clocking around 19,000 units. Though the e-bike is a niche market, it fits in between two segments-the bicycle and the two-wheeler industry, which have a sales volume of 16 million and 21 million units, respectively.

“E-bikes become the right option for both types of consumers- first who want to an e-bike for commute and do not want pay big amounts on scooters or motorcycle and for those, a larger group, who want e-bikes for commuting purpose and healthy lifestyles as well. We focus on to offer the right mix of technology, cost and quality,” said Kumar.

Skellig and Skellig Pro, are being sold through online and offline routes, while the Skellig Lite is being sold through online platforms. About 75 percent of the sales comes from offline, while the rest comes from online portals.

After launching of its two models, the One and the Mile, last year, the company realised that there are larger numbers of people who want to buy an e-bike in the range between INR15,000 to INR 20,000. However, there is no company which offers e-bikes in that range. Therefore, it launched Skellig Lite for INR 19,999.

To expand business, the company is doubling its dealers to 100 by January 2021. The company is taking entrepreneurs on board, and the programme is called direct sales partners. Explaining this programme, Kumar said, this is for individuals who have a passion for sales and wants to start their own business but does not have capital. “If a person has sales experience, he can join us as a direct sales partner. We give him/ her all collaterals- the marketing materials-and if the person cracks a deal with an individual or a corporate, the direct sales partner gets a commission. They don’t need to keep an inventory.”

As of now, the company has over 100 direct sales partners and, in the last three month, it has converted seven direct sales partners into the dealers.

The company is also expanding its experience centres in India from three to five soon.

Kumar said, “Our dealers get a margin of up to 16 percent on e-bikes and we also offer good margins on the active performance wears which have been launched by the company recently.”

The company gives a warranty of two years on each e-bike and provides two free services in the first year. The company is increasing local authorised technicians, whose data will be updated soon on the company website, to have e-bike serviced at home. It is also working on having partnerships with service providers such as GO Mechanic to avail services where the company dealers and technicians are not available as of now.

On the possibility of price reduction, Kumar said, “We will be trying to reduce the prices of our products further, but there is a threshold. We cannot bring down the prices after one level as we do not compromise on the quality of our e-bikes. Main costs of any e-bikes come from batteries, motors, and controllers. Until India does manufacture cells and make batteries locally, it will be difficult to bring down the prices after a certain level.”

The company has a manufacturing unit near Kolkata with a capacity of 12,000 units per annum. To support speedy deliveries it is also exploring to build a facility in North India, which will have a capacity of 20,000 per year.The company is facing significant challenges on the logistic for delivery of the products due to COVID. According to Kumar, delivery time and cost have doubled thanks to COVID. “We do not see the logistic business will come back on track at least for the next one year and that is the one the reasons to open a plant in North so we can cater to north and west market more efficiently,” said Kumar.

Last year the company sold around 1,150 units, and for this year, it targets to sell about 2,000 units. “Due to the lockdown, we have revised our sales target from 3,000 units to 2,000 units for this FY.” Majority business for the company comes from south India, particularly, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and other cities, where technology adaption is faster.

To enhance e-bikes’ experience, the company has launched comfort apparels. Most of the amateur cyclists do not feel comfortable wearing skintight spandex. It has developed active gears, specifically design to bend tech with comfort and style. “We have introduced active gears which are comfortable and durable products and allows more breathability to users,” Kumar added. (MT)

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Wayve, NVIDIA and Stellantis have announced a joint collaboration alongside the French government at the Assises du Véhicule Autonome to support the deployment of autonomous vehicles in France and across the European Union.

The initiative combines Stellantis’ L4-Ready Platforms with the Wayve AI Driver system, integrating NVIDIA Halos OS on the NVIDIA Hyperion compute and sensor architecture. The collaboration aims to establish an autonomous vehicle value chain in France, spanning silicon development, software integration and vehicle manufacturing.

Local transport partners will engage with trade unions, municipal authorities, and mobility stakeholders to address regulatory alignment, safety requirements, and operational deployment.

Philippe Tabarot, French Minister of Transports, said, "I am pleased to see this collaboration between Wayve, NVIDIA and Stellantis launched at the Autonomous Vehicle Forum in France. France is committed to adapting its regulatory framework to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles while maintaining strict safety and data sovereignty requirements. By bringing together trade unions, city authorities, and mobility stakeholders, this collaboration embodies the collaborative spirit of the Assises du Véhicule Autonome, as well as the approach required to transition from trials to real-world deployment."

Kaity Fischer, VP Autonomous Mobility & Operations, Wayve, said, "France is leading the way in preparing for autonomous vehicles, and we’re proud to enter this collaboration at such an important moment. By working directly with the French Government and our partners, we can help shape how this technology is deployed safely and responsibly and accelerate its development across the country and entire EU."

Anne Laliron, SVP of Technology Research, Stellantis, said, "This collaboration will help accelerate the delivery of autonomous driving technologies that make mobility safer and more convenient for customers. While its impact is global, France is one of Stellantis’ key centres for engineering and technology development, making it a natural home for advancing the future of AI-powered mobility."

Ali Kani, VP of Automotive, NVIDIA, said, "Bringing safe autonomous mobility to Europe requires deep collaboration across AI, computing and vehicle engineering. NVIDIA Hyperion platform, combined with Wayve’s embodied AI and Stellantis’ automotive expertise, provides a foundation for that ambition. Together with the French Government and local partners, we can help build an ecosystem that brings the benefits of autonomous driving to communities across France and Europe."

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German luxury carmaker Audi has introduced third-generation digital OLED rear lighting technology on the Q91, marking the production debut of three-dimensionally curved digital OLED panels in the automotive industry.

The lighting system incorporates carrier glass measuring 0.1 millimetres in thickness, allowing a bend radius of up to 200 millimetres to match the vehicle's body contours. The Q91 uses six digital OLED panels housing 512 individual segments, including an outer curved panel with 99 segments.

The curved positioning extends light visibility to wider lateral angles and incorporates warning symbols within the communication light system to alert surrounding traffic to breakdowns, emergency braking or accidents. Up to eight digital light signatures are available across static, active and semi-active display settings.

The vehicle also features digital Matrix LED headlights utilising a 13-millimetre micro-LED module containing 25,600 individual micro-LEDs. The headlight system projects high-resolution lane lighting, orientation paths and dynamic turn signal graphics directly onto the road surface to assist lane centring and indicate directional changes to pedestrians and other vehicles.

Audi first introduced OLED technology on the TT RS in 2016, followed by segmented digital OLEDs on the Q5 in 2020 and second-generation panels on the Q6 e-tron in 2024.

Stefan Berlitz, Head of Lighting Development at AUDI AG, said, "At Audi, light means safety first and foremost – seeing and being seen. Digitalisation opens up entirely new possibilities for further enhancing road safety. The curved digital OLED technology in the Audi Q91 impressively demonstrates this technology’s potential. It combines design freedom, personalization, and communication with the vehicle’s surroundings at a new level. Our vision is to gradually transform light into an intelligent means of communication that makes interaction between the vehicle and its surroundings even safer and more intuitive."

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European ride-hailing platform Bolt has selected the NVIDIA Alpamayo Stack autonomous driving software to operate its vehicle fleet in Europe, starting with Lucid automobiles.

The deployment commences in Madrid in 2027, with subsequent deployment planned in Germany and France. The initiative supports the integration of at least 25,000 Level 4-ready Lucid vehicles equipped with NVIDIA Hyperion compute and sensor architecture. The program contributes to Bolt's objective of deploying 100,000 autonomous vehicles across Europe and the UNECE region by 2035. The system integrates reasoning artificial intelligence with perception and planning modules alongside NVIDIA Halos safety controls.

Jevgeni Kabanov, President and Head of Autonomous Driving, Bolt, said, “Autonomous driving will change how people move around cities, and Europe should play a major role in how that future is built. Our ambition isn't to bring autonomous driving to just a handful of cities. We want to make autonomous ride-hailing available at scale across Europe, with 100,000 vehicles on our platform by 2035. We're bringing together some of the best technologies in the world to make that possible. Following our first autonomous mobility launch in Luxembourg, our next step with NVIDIA and Lucid is to begin a programme in Madrid in 2027. The Region of Madrid is pioneering a structured framework for commercial autonomous mobility in coordination with national authorities. Germany will also be a priority for what comes next, with cities already setting out clear ambitions for autonomous mobility.”

Rishi Dhall, Vice-President of Automotive, NVIDIA, said, “Robotaxis will scale when every vehicle is built on a common, safety-engineered foundation. NVIDIA Hyperion standardises the compute and sensor architecture across vehicle platforms, while NVIDIA Alpamayo Stack and Halos provide the driving intelligence and safety foundation. Bolt’s European platform, operational experience and work with cities and regulators make it a strong partner to bring autonomous ride-hailing to market at scale in Europe.”

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French tier 1 supplier Valeo has announced plans to develop and industrialise high-performance compute platforms utilising the NVIDIA Hyperion reference architecture and NVIDIA Halos safety system.

The initiative combines Valeo's vehicle integration capabilities with centralised computing architectures to support software-defined mobility systems. The platform utilises the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor architecture to deliver processing performance and redundancy for Level 4 autonomous driving, commercial trucking and robotaxi applications. The development framework enables automakers to integrate features and deploy autonomous technologies across vehicle models.

Marc Vrecko, Chief Executive Officer, Valeo Brain Division, said, "Our work with NVIDIA marks a significant milestone in our mission to make autonomous driving a safe, scalable reality. By seamlessly integrating NVIDIA’s advanced compute power into our next-generation platforms, we are delivering the flexible, centralised intelligence vehicle manufacturers require to redefine the driving experience and meet the evolving demands of tomorrow’s intelligent vehicles."

Rishi Dhall, Vice-President of Automotive, NVIDIA, said, "Valeo’s expertise in high-performance computing, vehicle integration and automotive-scale industrialisation will help automakers adopt NVIDIA Hyperion and NVIDIA Halos at production scale. Together, NVIDIA and Valeo are providing the AI performance, functional safety and scalability needed to accelerate the development of Level 4 autonomous vehicles and robotaxis."

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