River, a new Bengaluru-based electric vehicle startup, took the wraps off its first electric two-wheeler the River Indie Scooter. River positions it as the SUV of electric scooters, focussing on lifestyle and utility. The scooter is priced at Rs. 1.25 lakh (ex-showroom, Bengaluru) and pre-bookings for the scooter have begun. Deliveries will begin in August 2023, with trial production beginning in April 2023.
“River’s mission is to improve the day-to-day lives of people through a design-first approach. Our first product Indie is a bold statement, combining two different offerings — utility and lifestyle. It will be the most sensible scooter with the right mix of practicality, capability and style.”, said Aravind Mani, co-founder and chief executive officer at River.
The River Indie gets a very different, quirky design, with squarish twin beam LED headlights up front, a flat front apron and a nice wide seat, along with a long body and a shapely rear. The design is quite likeable, at least that’s the impression we get after spending some time with the scooter.
It gets a 6.7 kW motor which is mid-mounted and can propel the scooter to a maximum of 90 kmph with 0-40 kmph takings a little less than 4 seconds. The scooter gets a real world range of 120 km and has a gradeability 18 degrees. It can be charged till 80 per cent in five hours with a standard charger, which is included in the cost of the scooter.
The scooter gets a fixed lithium-ion battery pack with a capacity of 4 kWh, which contains 242 individual cells packed together. The casing is IP67 rated, which means it is dust and waterproof. The scooter is offered with a warranty of 5 years/50,000 km.
In terms of features, the scooter gets a 6-inch high-contrast colour LCD display and two USB ports along with customisation options and a low-speed reverse parking assist. There are three riding modes – eco, ride and rush.
The scooter has been designed and developed in India from scratch, at River’s R&D facility in Bengaluru and will be manufactured at its plant on the outskirts of the city. The annual production capacity is of 100,000 units. The dimensions and the weight of the scooter is yet to be revealed and we will have the opportunity to ride the scooter in the coming months.
