Motorbike Maker TVS Enters Kenya's EV Market With iQube Scooter

TVS Motor Company has entered Kenya’s electric-vehicle market with the launch of the TVS iQube, an electric scooter aimed at urban commuters looking for an alternative to petrol-powered two-wheelers.

• The Indian manufacturer is introducing two versions of the scooter, the iQube 3.5 and iQube 2.2, through its Kenyan partner Car & General, marking its first entry into Africa’s electric-scooter market.
• The iQube is designed for ordinary city travel rather than long-distance riding, travelling between 75 and 115 kilometres on a full battery and can be charged from a standard household electrical outlet using a portable charger.
• The scooters will be sold through Car & General's dealership network and come with a two-year or 30,000-kilometre warranty, with the distributor will providing after-sales support across Kenya.

“With a strong legacy in Africa, we are confident that the addition of our electric portfolio will further reinforce our leadership and offer compelling value to customers,” said Peyman Kargar, President of International Business, TVS Motor Company.

TVS estimates that an iQube rider could save about KSh47,000 a year compared with a conventional 125cc petrol scooter. The actual saving would depend on electricity and petrol prices, mileage, and maintenance costs.

“With fuel prices rising at an unprecedented pace, consumers in the personal mobility segment now have a compelling alternative in the TVS iQube, an electric scooter that delivers everyday mobility at a running cost that is only a fraction of that of a gasoline-powered vehicle,” said Madhu Prakash Singh, Vice President - International Business, TVS Motor Company 

The scooters also carry some of the technological trappings that have become common in newer electric vehicles. TVS's SmartXonnect system links the scooter to a smartphone and provides navigation, information about charging and riding, as well as security functions such as anti-theft alerts and geofencing. The scooters also have crash and fall alerts and reverse parking assistance.

For TVS, the Kenyan launch is also a bet that electric mobility will develop beyond the early market dominated by electric motorcycles used for commercial transport. The manufacturer said more than one million iQube riders worldwide have travelled a combined 17.8 billion kilometres, avoiding an estimated 623,595 tonnes of carbon-dioxide emissions.