CEO Insights India

Auto manufacturers have been increasingly recognizing electric vehicles as the technology of the future. Yet the general consensus is that mainstream adoption remains a thing for the distant future. But the buzz in the marketplace is that things are moving much faster on the ground than they actually are. The electric two wheelers have won more mindshare than market share, owing to the startups entering this space. The two wheeler EV market has practically all the ingredients in place products, technology, manufacturing capacity, supplychain, hype except the most important one, demand. Of every 100 two wheeler buyers in India, just one buys an electric vehicle (EV) but not everything about the industry is smoke and mirrors. On the bright side, sales of high speed electric two-wheelers increased by more than five times in 2021 compared to last year's low base and industry participants are certain that the sector will turn the corner in 2022.

Significantly, one such seasoned professional attempting to induce a paradigm shift in the Indian electronic two wheeler arena is Tamilselvan Subramanian, Co-Founder & CTO at Welectric. Tamilselvan applies his technical skills and experiences to take Welectric to greater heights owing to his strong 20 years of diverse technology experience. He has worked as a technical architect/consultant to many Finance and Energy companies across Europe, the US, and Australia. And he is currently developing a new age digital ecosystem for the sales, finance, maintenance, and after market of

electric two wheelers thatprovide millions of Indians with a seam less, flexible, and hassle-free electric two wheeler ownership experience.

In an exclusive interview with CEO Insights Magazine, Tamilselvan walks us through his professional journey and the unique traits of Welectric.

Take us through your exceptional professional journey.
I started my career designing a Dealer management system product for a company in Bangalore, then moved on to IBMs consultancy division, where I worked in the UK and the US. As an AI enthusiast, I intended to create a cloud-based AI platform. In early 2013, I was given the opportunity to work on Wipro's AI platform. I was a founding member of Wipro's AI Platform Holmes and then moved to Australia to lead the AI Engineering team.

What prompted you to establish Welectric?
Electric vehicles(EVs) are the future of mobility China has 50 percent of the world's EVs, while India has only two percent. During our research, we discovered that EV vehicles are Electronics just like Cellphone, also earlier generation Lead Acid batteries had unpredictable life. India is trailing behind in EV adoption due to three major issues which include No financing option given to electric vehicles, No avail ability of Maintenance shops, and No secondary market. In simple terms, the issues are Finance, Maintenance, and After market.

Shed some light on Welectric? What makes the company unique?
Welectric is establishing a digital brand agnostic Electric two wheeler lifecycle management company

using an ecosystem approach. We are reimagining India's 2W ecosystem, which is electric and digital, by incorporating critical elements of finTech and e-Commerce into our business strategy. Welectric is developing a data driven, AI-powered digital platform in collaboration with OEMs, Dealers and Financiers to give seamless access to all electric two wheeler related products and services for the next 200 million users to be an EV first generation. Our digital, colla borative and lifecycle management strategy will address the critical issues around electric two wheeler finance, maintenance and after market for all brands because hassle free ownership or subscription experience is necessary to transition the industry to 100 percent electric.

What is the core mission of Welectric?
Some fallacies surround the adoption of electric two wheelers, Myths such as the need to wait for charging infrastructure or battery switching infrastructure. Or that these vehicles aren't fast enough, or that new batteries are required on a frequent basis. Apprehensions such as how can electric vehicles be financed? Where or who is responsible for the upkeep? What is the resale value? Or is there a resale market at all?

Starting with lease rental or subscription and doorstep maintenance services, Welectric is on a mission to make it simple for India's next 200 million two wheeler users to not only switch to an EV, but to have a hassle-free experience throughout their two wheeler lifecycle.

Tamilselvan Subramanian, Co-Founder & CTO, Welectric
Building a new age digital ecosystem for electric two wheeler sales, finance, maintenance, and aftermarket that will provide millions of Indians with a seamless, flexible, and hassle free electric two wheeler ownership experience