Zoho Founder Sridhar Vembu Drives Treo Electric Auto, Offers Anand Mahindra Suggestions

Zoho founder and billionaire Sridhar Vembu recently got his hands on the Mahindra Treo electric three-wheeler. Vembu took to Twitter to provide a few suggestions about the scooter, saying how much potential he saw in the product.

“This electric auto form factor and the price point (take-home price under Rs 3.5 lakhs) is a very affordable family vehicle. With volumes, prices can come down. Design can make this a really cool vehicle. When I drive my auto on rural roads, people ask me where to get one." Vembu’s tweet read.

“Please offer a variety of designs and colors on the electric auto line. Offer family and kid friendly options. Come up with a cool marketing campaign to popularize these low-cost electric vehicles. I see great potential for them. I love driving one!" he added.

In addition to Zoho, Vembu’s personal wealth is over $2.5 billion, according to Forbes. Even while the Centre and state governments continue to encourage vehicle owners to use electric cars, the EV market in India remains a very minor fraction of the country’s overall motor vehicle industry. One of the primary reasons for this is the high cost of EVs, particularly electric cars along with other issues such as the nascent stage of charging infrastructure in India.

Recently, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said that India is only one EV revolution away from turning things around and lowering the cost of electric vehicles to the same level as petrol and diesel vehicles.

Gadkari addressed the annual session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and FY21 AGM, which was hosted digitally. “Within two years, the cost of EVs will come down to a level that will be at par with their petrol variants," he said and added that the government is working to expand the EV charging facilities.

ALSO READ: December 2021 Car Launches: From Volkswagen Tiguan Facelift to BMW iX

“We are setting up 600 EV charging points across major highways by 2023. The government also wants to ensure that the charging stations are powered by renewable sources like solar or wind electricity," he said.

Gadkari said that “The cost of EVs is high because their number is less." He said India is anticipating an EV revolution, with 250 startup businesses engaged in cost-effective EV technology creation. Furthermore, major automakers have joined the battle to cut the cost of EV production. The GST is only 5% on EVs and the cost of lithium-ion batteries is also declining.

Also Watch:

Mahindra Treo

The Treo is one of the most popular electric three-wheelers in India. Last year, Mahindra Electric Mobility Ltd. announced that the Treo became the first electric three-wheeler to cross the 5,000 units sales milestone in India. The company says that the country’s switch to EVs is being led by electric three-wheelers as they are economically, environmentally and socially sustainable.

The Treo range is powered by Lithium-ion Battery with a claimed life of over 1.50 lakh kilometres. The new Treo provides 8kW of power and a peak torque of 42 Nm. It also has the longest wheelbase in its segment resulting in a spacious cabin.

Read all the Latest Auto News here