We source 60% of the components from India: Ankit Kumar GoZero

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In an interview with Paayel, Sub Editor, TimesTech Buz, Mr. Ankit Kuma, CEO GoZero Mobility, talks about challenges investment and the journey

Times Tech: Tell us about your company and its products?

Ankit Kumar: GoZero Mobility is a British performance electric bike and activewear maker, with an R&D base in Birmingham and global manufacturing in India. GoZero stands out with its product, quality, and drive value as a statement of choice by the consumers. The company’s current business is limited to India, UK, and Sweden only and the company is planning to expand to the UAE market this year. 

GoZero currently offers 5 products starting from INR 19,999 to INR 39,999 in the market. The product differentiates based on application, usage pattern, terrain, and rides comfortably.  The newly released Skellig series boasts the eBike’s high performance driven by GoZero’s very own EnerDrive Lithium Battery. The new Skellig Lite is placed as an entry-level product for consumers willing to switch from traditional means and upgrade the choice of commute & lifestyle.

Times Tech: Can you share the story of inception, challenges, and investment in this venture?

Ankit Kumar: The story of GoZero began in 2018 in Birmingham with a set of 6 people, two co-founders, and four design experts who came together to design a product that may be rightly placed between the conventional bicycles and scooters/motorcycles. The idea was to develop a product that can meet the requirements of short-medium distance commute & bridge commute with fitness. Our team worked on creating multiple proto-models before finalizing the one to be launched in India. We faced numerous challenges when we started testing in India, in some cases we even went back to the drawing board and made changes. It took us a few iterations to finally build our Flagship “One” which we launched in 2019. The product was received well by the consumers and we started creating experiences. We received a seed-round investment of USD 250,000 from KSL Cleantech which we utilized for building our manufacturing center (GoZero Lab) and work on new product development.

The biggest challenge came our way in 2020 with Covid and lockdowns impacting our complete operations shutdown. We took a big hit on sales and fulfillment, we took measures, developed coping mechanisms to counter and come out of the situation. 

Times Tech: Could you please elaborate on the design of your product (built in-house or outsourced, assembly process, joint venture, or partnership with another manufacturer)?

Ankit Kumar: All our products are designed in the UK from our R&D lab, both our teams in India and UK work hand-in-hand on consumer research, product designing, and validation. Our global manufacturing base is in Kolkata and Gurgaon which caters to domestic and export fulfillment.

Times Tech: How do you source your materials for EVs — locally or import them?

Ankit Kumar: We source 60% of the components from our Indian vendors and rest are being imported from China, Taiwan, UK and Spain.

Times Tech: How do you see the future and prospects of the EVs market in India?

Ankit Kumar: The future of EV is bright, shiny and full of opportunities. This is one such industry which is creating scope for ample of companies/entrepreneurs to rise. The current EV infrastructure is appreciating at the rate of EV demand in India. In the last few months, a lot of impetus on EV infrastructure is being put by Government and Corporates. eBikes will seen to be leading the space in the coming years.