The number of autonomous vehicles in the Asia-Pacific region will increase to 24 million units, claims a report by Graphical Research.
Increasing R&D activities are driving the growth of autonomous vehicles. The growing market size of electric vehicles is also playing a key role in expanding autonomous vehicles. In 2016, China saw the largest growth in electric vehicle sales. In addition to these market factors, one other major trend is driving the proliferation of self-driving cars: technological advancement. Advances in technology such as GPS and computer vision make it possible for self-driving cars to operate autonomously — without human intervention.
India, Singapore and Malaysia are investing in new infrastructure for electric vehicles, which will also help them to develop autonomous vehicle technology.
Let’s look at the electric and autonomous vehicle startup companies in Asia.
NIO
Photo by: LogoMyWay
Details of NIO
Founders: William Li, Hsien Tong Cheng, Lihong Qin
Founded: November 2014
Industry: Automotive
Headquarter: Shanghai, China
Estimated revenue: 1,625.8 crores CNY (2020)
NIO Inc. is a pioneer in China’s premium smart electric vehicle market. NIO’s mission is to shape a joyful lifestyle by offering premium smart electric vehicles and being the best user enterprise. NIO designs, manufacture and sells smart and connected premium electric vehicles, driving innovations in next-generation technologies in connectivity, autonomous driving, and artificial intelligence. Redefining the user experience, NIO provides users with comprehensive, convenient and innovative charging solutions and other user-centric services.
Source: Crunchbase
Ather Energy
Photo by: Wikipedia
Details of Ather
Founders: Tarun Mehta, Swapnil Jain
Founded: 2013
Industry: Automotive
Headquarter: Bangalore, India
Revenue: Rs 79.8 crore (2021)
Ather Energy is a startup focused on designing and selling electric two-wheelers and other EV solutions for the Indian market. They have experienced success so far in their mission to change the perspective on electric vehicles. The company has two electric scooter models: the 450 Plus and the 450X. They also have an electric vehicle charging network called AtherGrid.
Also read: Recently Acquired Travel Companies In Asia
Hozon
Photo by: Chinapev.com
Details of Hozon
Founders: Yunzhou Fang, Zhang Yong
Founded: 2014
Industry: Automotive
Headquarter: Zhejiang, China
Hozon integrates hardware products and software services through innovative technology research and development, intelligent manufacturing, and multi-channel sales services. Through the development of electric, intelligence, and connectivity, they are committed to creating cost-effective Intelligent electric vehicles of high quality, providing users with a simple, intuitive, and comfortable travel experience.
Source: Crunchbase
Li Auto
Photo by: Facebook
Details of Li Auto
Founder: Xiang Li
Founded: 2015
Industry: Automotive
Headquarter: Beijing, China
Li Auto Inc., also known as Li Xiang, is a Beijing-based electric vehicle startup that plans to disrupt the transportation and auto industries through complete vertical integration. It designs, researches, manufactures, sells, and offers services featuring a few models of electric vehicles. It makes products including smart EVs and electric SUVs to provide customers with longer crosstown journeys.
Source: Crunchbase
StoreDot
Photo by: Wikipedia
Details of StoreDot
Founders: Doron Myersdorf, Gil Rosenman, Simon Litsyn
Founded: Sep 2012
Industry: Automotive
Headquarter: Herzilya, Israel
StoreDot is well known for creating extreme fast charging technologies and helping drivers overcome charging anxiety which is currently the biggest barrier to EV ownership. The company has revolutionized the conventional Li-ion battery by designing and synthesizing proprietary organic and inorganic compounds, making it possible to fully charge an EV in just five minutes – the same time it takes to refuel a conventional combustion engine vehicle.
Source: PR Newswire
Gogoro
Photo by: Wikipedia
Details of Gogoro
Founders: Horace Luke, Matt Taylor
Founded: 2011
Industry: Automotive
Headquarter: Taoyuan, Taiwan
Gogoro is a Taiwanese company that developed a battery-swapping refuelling platform for urban electric two-wheel scooters, mopeds and motorcycles. It also develops its own line of Smart electric scooters and offers its own vehicle innovations to vehicle maker partners like Hero, Yamaha, Aeonmotor, PGO, eReady and eMOVING.
Source: Wikipedia
Euler Motors
Details of Euler Motors
Founder: Saurav Kumar
Founded: Apr 2018
Industry: Automotive
Headquarter: New Delhi, India
Euler Motors is an automotive tech company based in New Delhi. They are working on developing and delivering commercial electric vehicles. The startup already manages more than 200 charging point infrastructure in Delhi NCR to support EVs on the ground. Euler Motors aims to put 5,000 units on the road by 2023 and plans to expand in other markets such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.
Source: Financial Express
Ultraviolette Automotive
Photo by: Mix India
Details of Ultraviolette Automotive
Founders: Narayan Subramaniam, Niraj Rajmohan
Founded: Dec 2014
Industry: Automotive
Headquarter: Bangalore, India
Ultraviolette Automotive is a young startup that focuses on electric 2-wheelers and clean energy infrastructure. Ultraviolette Automotive was founded by Narayan Subramaniam and Niraj Rajmohan. This company was born from a unique vision of developing high-quality solutions for transportation needs. That is both progressive in design and Energy-efficient in nature. Ultraviolette Automotive is building India’s first ecosystem of high-performance electric vehicles.
Sun Mobility
Details of Sun Mobility
Founders: Ajay Goel, Chetan Maini, Uday Khemka
Founded: 2016
Industry: Automotive
Headquarter: Bangalore, India
SUN Mobility is a company engaged in the business of designing, developing and operating energy infrastructure for electric mobility for various types of electric vehicles in the shared mobility sector. With new investment and strategic support from Vitol, Sun mobility plans to expand its footprint to all major cities and install 500 SWAP Points in India by 2022.
Conclusion
Electric vehicles are becoming the most popular vehicle type, and with each passing year, we’ve seen more and more automakers add electric vehicles to their lineup. Many industry watchers believe that EV sales will overtake petrol and diesel vehicles much more quickly than expected. The rising cost of petrol & diesel fuel – at all-time highs in most places – also favours electric cars.
