Electric cycles as you are aware have exploded in popularity in the last decade. Some people believed that COVID-19 would hamper its progress. However, it seems like the hamper has accelerated the e-cycle’s prosperity. Now the question that arises is, will this growth continue?
Acceptance of E-cycles
As the glorious e-cycles have grown, so has their level of acceptance amongst the Indian population. As the famous saying goes: ‘First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.’
Cycling has been a substantial part of the planning in cities and towns throughout Europe and many parts of Asia for ages except for India. However, thanks to e-cycles it is beginning to take place now.
Massive Growth
It has been predicted by many that growth of the electric cycle sector in India is likely to elevate. Over the next 4-5 years, experts have predicted that the e-cycle industry will experience a 12.5% growth every year. Which in turn will result in an overall estimated growth of 80% in 6 years. Basically, it means a tremendous increase in ownership and increase in the number of electric cycles across every street and corner of India. So, braces yourselves, you are going to see a lot of e-cycles across India in the upcoming years.
Change in Climate
The normal thought process looming across India today is that the electric car will replace the car as the regular mode of transportation. And eventually, it will solve major climate issues like global warming. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. It is going to take a lot more than just electric cars for solving climate issues. And many people view e-cycles as an essential part of our path to an eco-friendly transportation.
As you begin to embrace the electric cycle in India, many people are moving away from their cars. Electric cycles are gradually reducing the need for a car in the Indian household. One of the major reasons behind this change is that electric cycles are slimmer, smaller, and do not require you to deal with the sky-rocketing fuel prices. In addition to that, they have much lower maintenance cost compared to cars and electric cars, for that matter.
Commercial Usage
As many Indian companies seek to become environmental-friendly, they look towards electric vehicles to fulfil these needs. In major Indian cities like Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, e-cycles are being viewed as a cheaper, eco-friendly and much faster alternative to other electric vehicles that include both electric cars and electric bikes.
Availability and Price
You may recall the time when flat-screen televisions first came out, nobody could afford them. The same applies with all latest technological advancements and electric cycles were no different.
The first electric bicycles that were released cost nearly as much as a motorcycle does. However, now, you can even buy a comparatively cheap kit to transform your cycle into an electric bicycle. With the increase in popularity of technologies, there is a considerable growth in supply chain and prices drop rapidly. Which means that you can easily buy a top-quality e-cycle in India at an affordable price.
This gigantic fall in price is most likely to continue. Nonetheless, be ready for a substantial drop-off in the quality of the product in the low-end e-cycle models. What is likely to become common in India is something already common in many parts of Europe—leasing of electric cycles. This practice will also provide the end-users with access to products that were previously out of their reach.
The Electric Cycle of the Future
If electric cycles have a marvellous future, then the tech is going to flourish simultaneously. But the real question is, what does the electric cycle of the future actually look like?
Wider Range of Electric Cycles
As the popularity of e-cycles continue to grow rapidly, there is likely to be an increase in variety of models. You can imagine e-cycles designed to deliver multiple food orders while others designed to accommodate family-sized trips to the supermarket. This considerable larger variety of usage is a result of a massive increase in demand for more specialized e-cycles in India.
More lightweight
With the development of manufacturing processes and material technologies, electric cycles will become lighter.
Larger Range but Smaller Batteries
Batteries make up a significant portion of the additional weight of an e-cycle. Again, you may expect to see the advancement in technology play a crucial role in reducing the weight of electric cycles along with increasing the battery life. As the technology advances, the e-cycle batteries are likely to get smaller and last longer. As a result, you will soon have the choice between an electric cycle that can take you over a 100 km or a much lighter e-cycle that can take you across a dozen kilometres and be sufficiently light for you to carry up the stairs.
Higher Payload
Another futuristic good news for e-cycle lovers like you is that as e-cycles will become lighter, they will not lose any of their major functions. Some of you might prefer them lighter. While, others may desire an ability to carry a lot more weight. Do you want to perform full grocery shopping on your e-cycle? Or perhaps you want to drop your children to school before going to office. Don’t worry! This could all be a reality very soon on just one e-cycle!
Durability of Components
As the popularity of electric cycles increases, your expectations will rise as well. Nonetheless, e-cycles are still modified bicycles. So, a complete transformation of this older machine to a more powerful form takes time. The additional power required increases the wear and tear on the e-cycle parts. Thus, improvements to the strength and durability of these parts will soon help the e-cycle industry to build a second-hand market similar to the second-hand car market.
Recycling Electric Cycle Batteries
Recycling battery is a considerable way we can help in reducing the amount of toxic waste we produce. Although you might have seen locations of battery recycling for AA and AAA batteries. You might wonder where larger and heavier batteries in your electric cycles or electric cars can be recycled.
Well, there is one program for recycling and that is Call2Recycle. These people collaborate with numerous businesses including a major hardware shop. So, if you are a business owner you may want to collab with Call2Recycle to help mother earth while providing a service to your local community.
What Is The Future of The Future of E-cycles?
So, till now we have discussed what the near future holds for e-cycles. But what about the distant future? How will electric cycles evolve and get incorporated into our society in the distant future? This leads us to look into the crystal ball and see the distant future of electric cycles:
Smart E-Cycles
Introducing an intelligent design to e-cycles has played a pivotal role in attracting customers. Along with the development of E-life in our world, the e-cycle industry has been working on developing automatic and intelligent electric cycles . These smart e-cycles carry the potential to influence many of our daily activities. We can predict that in the distant future, cycles won’t just be a sports or transportation tool. In fact, they will also be an efficient monitoring platform for smart cities.
In future, these spectacular smart e-cycles will be used to collect environmental information at any time. Moreover, the smart electric cycle can be used to monitor traffic data. The bicycle industry is transforming drastically while moving towards Artificial intelligence along with Internet of Things and smart application. Therefore, the e-cycle manufacturers will look towards developing e-cycle products that are more in line with the smart industry.
Community Sharing
As the design of electric cycle advances more and more towards AI, cyclists hope to utilise intelligent networking as a community-sharing tool. The purpose is to relish a more efficient riding experience. Moreover, the cyclists want to promote the formation of this new status quo of shared devices in the cycling realm. Integrating GPS in their e-cycles allows cyclists to upload the info of their ride to be shared with other cyclists. This in turn brings closer interaction between riders. Additionally, it increases visibility and brand awareness.
Customization
Intelligence development and electrification of cycles depends purely depends on technology. However, the customisation of bicycle products with innovative designs also plays a major role for cycle brands to enter new markets. Numerous customers still expect to get a bicycle that they can customise according to their tastes. Where they are able to select their favourite frame color, material etc. And they are willing to pay through the nose for it.
The future is bright for electric cycles in India, bringing in unimaginable possibilities. However, for now, we should just be happy that the current e-cycles are good enough to save us money on fuel and make our rides smooth and easy on rough terrain.