Keeway's First Electric Scooter For India To Feature 14-Inch Wheels And ABS; Launch In June

India's electric scooter market is set to welcome a new player next month – Keeway, which will launch the EZI Hypevolt e-scooter in June. So far, Keeway – part of Adishwar Auto Ride India (AARI), which also handles QJ Motor and Benelli – has been a fringe player in India, and has previously offered high-capacity petrol scooters such as the Vieste 300 and the Sixties 300i. However, Keeway is now introducing its first electric scooter in the Indian market, picked up from its ‘EZI’ sub-brand in China.

What is EZI?

To roll out a range of electric two-wheelers, Keeway founded EZI in 2020. EZI has a manufacturing facility in Ziyang, Sichuan, in China, and the brand currently produces a variety of scooters and electric motorcycles, including a scrambler, a cruiser and a maxi-scooter, among others.

EZI Hypevolt: Design and powertrain

In its design, the EZI Hypevolt may remind some of the BMW CE 04, with its long, avant-garde shape. It even has a CE 04-like bench seat, split into sections for the rider and pillion.

The Hypevolt has split LED headlights flanked by vertical LED daytime running lights, and it will have a raised stance, as it rides on large, 14-inch alloy wheels. Seat height is 770 mm, and the scooter weighs 145 kg.

In China, the Hypevolt is available with twin 2.5 kWh batteries for a total capacity of 5 kWh. The scooter, in its home market, can be had with either a hub motor, or a mid-drive motor. Continuous output is rated at 6 kW (8 bhp) for the latter, while peak output is 12 kW (16 bhp). Top speed, as per EZI, is 115 kmph.

EZI claims the Hypevolt will have a range of up to 140 kilometres. The scooter features fast charging as well.

EZI Hypevolt: Safety and features

The Hypevolt will have disc brakes front and back, and while a variant with a combi-braking system (CBS) is offered in China, we expect the India-spec scooter to be offered with dual-channel anti-lock braking system (ABS).

Other key safety equipment on the scooter includes traction control, hill descent control and hill hold control. Interestingly, in its home market, the Hypevolt is also equipped with a rear camera and a blind spot detection system, but it remains to be seen if these features are included on the India-spec scooter.

EZI Hypevolt: How much will it cost?

With the launch likely to take place in mid-June, the EZI Hypevolt will enter uncharted territory, as it is likely to be one expensive e-scooter. While it won't be as pricey as the BMW it somewhat resembles, the Hypevolt – with its twin batteries and equipment levels – is expected to cost upwards of Rs 3 lakh (ex-showroom).