BLive, Ather Energy’s partnership to promote EVs at tourist hotspots – Times of India
The partnership will aim to set up 5 charging booths across Goa by the end-August and 15 by the end of the year. Starting with Goa, BLive will showcase Ather Energy’s electric scooter through product experiences and facilitate pre-bookings for customers.
Adding impetus to the partnership, GTDC (Goa Tourism Development Corporation) has also extended its hand to provide space for BLive EV Zones. Official EV Tourism partner of GTDC, BLive will set up EV zones across its associated hotels.
The Goa-based BLive provides twin services in the field of electric vehicles. The BLive- electric-bike tour offers curated local tours that can be experienced on electric bikes.
The startup also runs an online multi-brand EV store, through which it retails electric scooters and e-cycles of Hero Electric, Ampere, Okinawa, Hero Lectro and several other brands. BLive aims to open its physical stores later this year.
Additionally, customers can also pre-book Ather’s electric scooters through the BLive multi-brand EV store.
“The partnership will drive our ultimate goal of promoting EV adoption. The partnership with Ather Energy helps us offer potential customers a test of smart e-scooter through curated city tours. We are also helping them set up their charging infra (Ather Grid),” said Samarth Kholkar, CEO, BLive.
“Currently, BLive will be Ather Energy’s partnership in Goa and will be extending this to all other places where we have a strong presence. It will help reduce the gap between electric vehicles and the end consumer,” said Sandeep Mukherjee, COO, BLive.
BLive expanded to 18 cities across 9 states in India and has completed over 13,000 eBike tours so far. BLive has seen a 3x growth in its eBike Tours in 2020 and expects the demand to increase by 5x in Unlock 2021.
The Bengaluru-based EV manufacturer Ather Energy is currently selling 450 Plus and 450X models, starting at Rs 1,71,415 (ex-showroom). According to the company website, the Ather e-scooters are available in 20 cities.
Ravneet Phokela, Chief Business Officer, Ather Energy said, “We aim to leverage BLive’s strong presence, in Goa and other popular tourist destinations across India, in deploying Ather Grid and bringing the Ather experience to EV enthusiasts. Further, we hope to work very closely with BLive’s range of partners, from Goa Tourism to the hospitality industry, in boosting consumer confidence in shifting to e-vehicles.”
