For those who bought into the Simple One dream all the way back in 2021, the wait for the arrival of the electric scooter has been an arduously long one. More than a year and a half after ‘launching’ it on Independence Day 2021, Simple Energy finally unveiled the production-spec Simple One late in May 2023, and announced it will begin deliveries of its maiden offering on June 6. On the first day of deliveries, a total of 15 Simple One e-scooters were handed over to customers at a small ceremony in Bengaluru, and the delivery target for the month of June is 100 units, the company confirmed to carandbike.
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At the 2023 launch event, Simple announced a new price for the One, which, at Rs 1.45 lakh (ex-showroom), is Rs 35,000 higher than the price mentioned at its debut in 2021. However, the start-up did not provide any clarity on how those who have booked the scooter can pay the balance amount to complete their purchase, as it only plans to deliver scooters phase-wise. At present, it is only delivering to customers in Bengaluru, and when asked about how it selected who the first 15 units would be delivered to, Simple said it reached out to the ‘customers based on priority of pre-bookings’, in an emailed response.
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In a separate interaction with carandbike following the launch on May 23, company CEO and co-founder Suhas Rajkumar said the start-up has received over 1 lakh bookings for the One e-scooter, and it aims to deliver all orders in the next “8 to 10 months”.
The Simple Vision 1.0 factory in Shoolagiri, Tamil Nadu, has an annual production capacity of 3 lakh units, and Rajkumar said the start-up aims to achieve sales of 50,000 units a month in the next two to three years. To this end, Simple plans to roll out two more scooters at lower price points, by 2024. Simple is also targeting extending its network to 40-50 cities across India in the next 12 months, with a total of 160-180 retail stores. However, there is no clarity on when customers awaiting the One in other states will receive their scooters, as Simple hasn't revealed detailed phase-wise rollout plans.
The Simple One has a 5 kWh battery, the largest pack on any electric scooter in India today.
Simple’s own public fast-charging network, which will enable the Simple One to regain 1.5 km of range for every minute of charge, is slated to go live in August. The start-up, unlike its rivals, hasn’t announced a price hike following the FAME-II subsidy reduction for electric two-wheelers. However, it’s pertinent to mention that Simple is yet to be registered under the FAME-II scheme; for now, the Simple One’s price accounts for the maximum subsidy that it will eventually qualify for, which is likely to be around Rs 22,500. The Simple One has a significantly larger 5 kWh battery compared to other premium e-scooters, but Rajkumar is confident the start-up can hold on to its current pricing for the foreseeable future.
