Mantis in Manali
Orxa Energies, a pioneer in electric mobility and battery solutions, has announced that The Mantis, their soon to be launched flagship all-electric motorcycle, has covered 13510 km in 54 days, crossing the previous record of 12,379 km by an electric motorcycle. This feat was achieved as part of the Electric Bharatmala, an attempt for the world's longest electric motorcycle ride, powered by seven startups that came together to address the roadblocks associated with the adoption of electric mobility in India.
The ride began in Bengaluru on February 4, 2022 and traversed through 20 states and two Union Territories. The Mantis' were ridden up the coast abutting the Bay of Bengal, grazing past the foothills of the mighty Himalayas, through the immense heat of the Thar desert and the Rann of Kutch, down the coast along the Arabian Sea, winding along the Western Ghats and finally reaching Bengaluru where the ride concluded.
The EV ecosystem has benefited from the Electric Bharatmala and the work of the collaborators. There are now 68 new bolt charging points set up in 17 smaller cities like Forbesganj, Sangrur, Sitapur and Vapi. These points are now open to the public to charge their EVs which further facilitates the electric revolution to percolate into smaller cities and towns. EV charging stations were also set up in the Northeast in Darjeeling, Dimapur, Cherapunji, Cooch Behar and Guwahati contributing to the infrastructure required to propel the government's ambition of mass scale shift to electric mobility soon.
"The Electric Bharatmala is one of the toughest challenges that we have undertaken at Orxa. The biggest validation has been that the Mantises performed as expected - and even exceeded our expectations in certain respects - in almost all the terrain and environments that India has to offer. Our vision of building a truly ‘Made In India' and ‘Made For India' electric high performance motorcycle has been proven. The ride also gave us critical real-world data and in-depth insights on different terrains, climatic conditions, usage patterns and riding environments which will now help us fine-tune the Mantis before we enter final production this year,'' says Dr. Prajwal Sabnis, Co-Founder, Orxa Energies.
The team had the opportunity to engage, impart knowledge and narrate success stories of these ‘Made In India' startups to thousands of students from various universities, who were extremely curious about the future of EV tech and electric mobility in the country.
The ride is a testament to the capabilities of electric vehicles and should dispel all doubts regarding range, performance, reliability, servicing, and charging. The Orxa Mantis has demonstrated high levels of endurance on this ride by tackling steep hill inclines, highways, off-roads, mountainous terrains, extreme and challenging weather conditions, and took all of this in its stride.
