Customers want a gearbox in their electric bikes: Mohal Lalbhai, Founder and Group CEO of MATTER

It is the customer who wants to have a gearbox in their electric bike so that they can have better control over it; keeping this in mind we went on to design an electric bike that has four 'gears', stated Mohal Lalbhai, Founder and Group CEO of MATTER, which launched its electric bike AERA in the IT city of Bengaluru in Karnataka. 

 

The Indian bike market is vast, now at 1.5 crore units—and electric bikes have the potential to garner almost 15 to 20 per cent share of it, observedLalbhai. 

 

The Ahmedabad-headquartered company MATTER claims that its offering AERA is the world's first manufactured geared electric bike. MATTER AERA is now available for the first 500 riders in Bengaluru at an introductory price starting at ₹1.79 lakhs. This is being bundled with a free lifetime battery warranty of ₹15,000. The AERA is also available at a pre-registration showroom price starting from ₹1.88 lakhs.

 

Lalbhai told THE WEEK that a geared electric bike can maneuver rough and tough terrain and a rider can have better control over it. He said that it is a customer who psychologically wants to have a gearbox in a bike. 

 

He claimed that it is the world’s first manufactured Hypershift Manual Gearbox that has a 4-speed manual transmission in an EV, which is paired with 3 ride modes (Eco, City, Sport) to deliver 12 different ride combinations. This gearbox comes with smart park assist for ease in urban spaces.

 

Lalbhai further informed that the company had started pilot production of bikes from its newly built manufacturing unit near Ahmedabad. The plant was officially inaugurated on April 5 this year. It has a a capacity to manufacture 10,000 units a month which translates to around 1.2 lakh units per annum.  

 

MATTER also had a separate entity that manufactured Lithium-ion batteries that go into the bikes. Besides the gearbox, the electric bike scored over other electric bikes in terms of the liquid-cooled powertrain—an advanced liquid cooling system on both motor and battery pack for efficiency in hot, high-traffic conditions, added Lalbhai. 

 

The EV maker's founder also informed that the company has a team of 600 R&D people in Ahmedabad who were constantly aiming at bringing in the latest in innovations in their electric bikes.

 

The bike comes with a 17.78 (7”) Smart Touchscreen Dashboard, which is a connected cockpit with navigation, ride data, calls, music, and OTA updates. The bike is armed with an onboard charger, which comes with a 5A-compatible cable for easy plug and charge access, anywhere.  

 

It has a 5kWh battery which is IP67 certified, with a certified IDC range of up to 172 km. The bike also has a lightning acceleration and can reach 0–40 km/h in under 2.8 seconds. It also has dual disc brakes with ABS, telescopic front fork, and dual rear suspension. There is also a MATTER Mobile App that provides connectivity with real-time bike data, remote lock, geo-fencing, and service alerts.

 

The company is planning to expand its reach in India in the southern and western regions, all the while adding showrooms in Delhi and Rajasthan in the north. MATTER Motor Works, the electric mobility startup was founded in January 2019 in Ahmedabad.

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