Just 2 weeks ago, Bengaluru-based startup, Simple Energy launched a more affordable e-scooter called the Dot One with a smaller 3.7kWh battery at an introductory price of Rs 99,999 (ex-showroom, Bengaluru). That introductory period is now over and the price has been hiked to Rs 1,39,999 (including charger). For some context, the Simple One with its 5kWh battery was priced at Rs 1.45 lakh when it was finally launched in May 2023.
However, if you are an existing Simple One pre-booking holder, the company says you can switch to the Dot One and pay just Rs 99,999 until December 31. After that, the price will rise to Rs 1,39,999 for all pre-bookings of the Simple Dot One.
With its massive 5kWh battery, it would appear that Simple is unable to sustain the current pricing of the One scooter, especially after the recent slashing of the FAME-II subsidy. This could also be related to what we reported some time ago, wherein the company reached out to a few customers to cancel their pre-bookings. With the year drawing to a close, Simple Energy has only sold 50 odd units (as per government registration data on the date of publishing).
In fact, the company tells us that the One e-scooter with the 5kWh battery is now priced at Rs 1,58,000 (ex-showroom, Bengaluru, including charger). This is an increase of Rs 13,000 over its May 2023 launch price and Rs 48,000 over the initial ‘launch price’ of Rs 1.10 lakh that was originally announced in August 2021 when pre-bookings first opened.
With the arrival of the more cost-effective Dot One, Simple seems to be encouraging customers to opt for this e-scooter, with its press release for the new Dot One stating that ‘priority will be given to all One pre-booking holders that switch to the Dot One’.
However, the big part of the appeal of the Simple One was its huge battery and tempting price compared to every other rival. Now that the battery is down to a more commonly found size and the price has gone up significantly, it remains to be seen how many customers will make the jump after such a long wait.
Vishal Venugopal
Ved Janve
Azaman Chothia
