At the Connecting Ideas With Money session that took place on the 12th of May, 2023 founder Aniket Patel pitched Bangalore-based Seltra Automotive – a modern-age electric scooter and battery company that is solving for b2b use cases and helping save last mile delivery executives more money while helping them live a better life.
The startup is at the MVP stage.
“Indian delivery executives are struggling with high costs of fuel and maintenance, spending over 1.5 lakhs rupees annually on their vehicles, and earning just over 650 rupees per day after riding 120 plus kilometers for 14 hours. With over 4 million delivery executives facing this problem, they are looking for affordable and reliable eco-friendly transportation options, but the lack of suitable products developed for Indian roads and weather conditions and the dominance of foreign electric scooters in the market, make it challenging to find a solution,” says Aniket.
“Seltra Automotive is revolutionizing the last-mile delivery industry with cost-effective, reliable, and flexible electric vehicles. Our vehicles have an extremely low operational cost of just 20 paise/km, making them an affordable option for daily use. With a range of up to 180 km and cable-free lightweight portable batteries, Seltra’s vehicles provide a convenient and easy-to-use solution for small business owners and delivery executives. Customize your vehicle with modular attachments, removable seats, and two helmet storage options, ensuring safety and comfort for riders.”
India is a major two-wheeler market, but electric vehicle adoption is still in its early stages, and the market is flooded with low-quality products. While at Bounce, Founder Nachiket Morye and Aniket searched for an electric two-wheeler that could handle the demands of ride-sharing and last-mile delivery, but found no suitable product. After modifying, using 20 scooters, they realized that there was a need for an indigenous vehicle that could withstand tough conditions in India, designed specifically based on consumer needs rather than using the current available option of foreign assembled scooters.
‘Both Nachiket and I have worked in the automotive industry prior to starting Seltra. From building off road vehicles by using old parts for ‘BAJA, India’ to designing and building electric scooters and battery swapping stations with Bounce, we enjoy creating vehicles that push limits of design and engineering. Our first electric vehicle with a ride sharing startup – ANAV – had more than 10,000 bookings within a month!” says Aniket.
Team:
Nachiket and Aniket met more than 10 years ago in Engineering college in Mumbai. Since they have both worked together on multiple automotive and transportation projects in college as well as being colleagues in the startup called Bounce in Bangalore India.
Aniket Patil, CEO & Co-founder
Master’s in Design – National Institute of Design ,Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India (2018, graduated)
Bachelor’s in Production Engineering-Fr. Conceicao Rodrigues College of Engineering Mumbai, Maharashtra (2014 graduated)
Diploma in mechanical engineering- Government Polytechnic Jalgaon, Maharashtra, (2011)
Work Experience:
Bounce (electric) Bangalore, Karnataka India – Vehicle Design & program lead, (2019-2021)
