Flipkart announced the expansion of its electric vehicles selection with the launch of Okaya range of Electric Vehicles on its platform. With this launch, customers across hundreds of cities will get access to the widest selection of electric vehicles online and purchase it in a paperless and affordable manner. 

The launch of Okaya’s range of EVs on Flipkart will enable them to make their offerings available to a wider base of millions of Flipkart customers across 9,000 pincodes in 245 cities including metros such as Bengaluru, Delhi and smaller cities including , Gondia, Jorhat, Mumbai and Sultanpur.

Auto is one of the newest categories for Flipkart which was launched in July 2022 to bring a curated selection of multi-brand two-wheelers across vehicle types online, particularly EVs, to millions of customers across the country. Customers can simply go to the “Bikes and Cars” category and select “Two-wheelers” to access the selection, where they can also make use of Flipkart’s affordability constructs such as No Cost EMI and credit card offerings to make their purchases through a paperless experience. Flipkart also promises a 15-day guaranteed delivery.

Rakesh Krishnan, Senior Director, Two-wheelers, Automobile, and Electronics at Flipkart, said, “As India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, Flipkart has been at the forefront of building new categories online and we are excited to have recently launched our two-wheeler category to democratize the rapidly evolving industry. Our aim is to offer a wide selection of multi brand two-wheelers across vehicle types with a 15-day delivery promise which is a first in the industry along with a paperless and affordable purchase experience. We are excited to make available Okaya’s range of EVs as we look to fulfill the evolving EV requirements of our customers across the country.”

The two-wheeler category has been witnessing impressive traction among customers with over 10x increase in searches since its launch on Flipkart.

Anshul Gupta, Director, Okaya EV, said, “We are one of the fastest growing EV brands in the country, drawing our legacy from over three decades of experience as a leader in the battery industry. We offer a healthy selection of both high speed and low Speed EVs which helps improve the selection for customers. With Flipkart’s deep understanding of customer needs and their industry-best affordability programs, we are hopeful of significantly expanding our reach among customers and bringing customer delight with a 15-day guaranteed delivery.”

Over the last few years, new age two-wheelers and EVs have been gaining traction in India on the back of growing interest towards sustainable mobility options, government subsidies and a wider selection available. Flipkart is using innovative ways to popularize online purchase of two-wheelers and conducted its first-ever Live Commerce event called ‘The Auto Hour Live’ during the festive season in October which saw participation of thousands of viewers.

Honda Cars India Ltd. (HCIL) launched its new brand campaign ‘A Honda Goes Beyond’. The new campaign aims to connect with brand enthusiasts and a new generation of customers by showcasing Honda values of offering Innovative and Futuristic Technology products. Every Honda car is designed keeping superior customer experience at the core, to help people make their lives better today and into future.  Honda shows how it is forever determined to meet and exceed the expectations of customers, and therefore the brand promise of ‘A Honda Goes Beyond’. 

Speaking about the brand promise and the new campaign, Mr. Takuya Tsumura, President & CEO, Honda Cars India Ltd. said, “Honda’s journey in India has been nothing less than spectacular and credit goes to our customers who have bestowed their trust in Honda’s premium cars for the last 25 years. It has always been our endeavor to keep customers at the centre of our products and services. The current campaign is a celebration of bond that our customers share with us and we promise to go beyond in everything that we do.”

The concept of the campaign is deeply rooted in customer insight. Honda understands that before buying a car, people go through the loop of exploration and evaluation. They are overwhelmed with anticipation, reviews, comparisons, recommendations. The exploration is not about buying alone but also service, ownership and maintenance. They have a lot of expectation from the brands.

That’s where Honda promises to go the extra mile to make sure that every Honda journey is a joy and delight for its customers.  And this goes much beyond just the drive, the engineering and the cars. It is a commitment to every side of the ownership experience.  Honda fulfills all expectations, delighting the customer at every touchpoint throughout their relationship and therefore A Honda Goes Beyond.

The campaign will be featured across a wide range of high reach and high affinity digital and social platforms.

BLive, opened its first EV Experience store at CIT Road, Scheme VIM, Near Phoolbagan P.S, Kolkata, West Bengal. The EV Experience store was launched in the presence of Lopa Mudra, ex Miss Kolkata and Public Figure. The store offers a wide range of products for personal mobility and EV solutions for businesses.

With the rising petrol prices and increasing pollution there has been a pressing need in the country to switch to green mobility. But the problem of unawareness and low accessibility has been an obstacle in making the switch for many people. Through the store, BLive aims to offer multibrands EVs to customers. They offer electric two-wheelers, electric bicycles (e-bikes) and electric delivery vehicles all designed and manufactured by Indian brands. Like all other BLive stores, this new store will also have an in-house quick service kiosk, battery swap facilities and EV charging infrastructure.

BLive’s first Kolkata Multibrand EV experience store that launches at the beginning of the festival season showcases more than 20+ brands and brings everything related to E2W under one roof. The store is also looking forward to offering many festive offers to give a push to adoption of EVs in Kolkata. All the BLive stores currently feature key brands like Kinetic Green, Techo Electra, Gemopai, BattRE, Detel, E-Motorad, and others from charging solutions to post Sales service packages. Through the experience stores BLive brings a unique Phygital experience to help consumers experience and understand EVs before making a buying decision.

Speaking of the launch, Sandeep Mukherjee, COO & Co-Founder, BLive, said, “We are excited to launch our first store in Kolkata. Our experience stores are geared to build awareness, drive accessibility and affordability of EVs. Our larger vision is to accelerate EV adoption in India and to help promote sustainable mobility.

While EVs are gaining momentum, there is apprehension due to lack of information amongst the consumers. We aim to bridge this gap by providing the consumers with a holistic ‘touch and try’ experience and allay any apprehensions switching to electric. With every store we open, we are taking a step closer to our mission of – EV in every home in India.”

With this new store in Kolkata, BLive is bringing Clean Tech closer to the people of Kolkata, thus joining the global vision of bringing down the carbon emissions to zero. The store is not only going to give the customers a hands-on EV experience but a variety of brands and designs of vehicles to choose from to suit their needs and budgets. The store will also provide an extensive after-sales EV care experience, including roadside assistance, easy finance options, comprehensive service packages and e-mobility spares parts.

Commenting on the partnership, Vijay Kumar Patodia, SunGreen Power & Renewable Energy Pvt. Ltd said, “We are excited and looking forward to our partnership with BLive as this association gives us an opportunity to be part of the EV wave. Also having a multi-brand EV store allows us to offer more products and unique experiences to our customers.”

BLive launched its first few Multi-brand EV Experience stores initially in South and West India. Now, the brand makes its first foray in the East with the Kolkata store. BLive plans to drive a deeper penetration in tier-2 and tier-3 cities where customers struggle to shift to clean mobility due to lack of options and is looking for more store partners on a franchise model to open more stores across the country.