Japan-based startup specialises in electric scooters and aims to hit 100,000 unit sales across the region by 2015
Image credit: Terra Motors
Terra Motors, the automobile company that specialises in electric vehicles with two and three wheels, like the fancy scooter above, has just secured a huge funding to help expand its business across Asia.
The Japanese company announced today that it has received a US$10 million round of financing, thanks to venture capital investors Fenox Venture Capital and Mizuho Capital, along with a few others. Terra Motors CEO Toru Tokushige said that the company hopes to obtain the cooperation of Asian business groups. “Generally speaking, electric vehicles tend to be thought of as a means of mobility in Europe and America. But with regard to electric two and three wheelers, their main market is Asia.”
“More than 30 million units of electric two wheelers were sold in China in 2013, and hundreds of thousands of electric three wheelers have already been sold in India and in Bangladesh because of the high price of gasoline. Therefore, we need to focus on Asian markets,” added Tokushige.
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The funds will expand its business in Asian countries; the company plans to open firms in India and Bangladesh this year. It will also open up shops in Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and other countries within a few years.
Terra Motors will also enhance production of its A4000i scooters and electric three-wheeler vehicles in its existing firms in Vietnam and the Philippines. Its current goal with this Asian master plan is to hit 100,000 unit sales in the market by 2015. Tokushige said that the company’s short-term goal is to take the lead in the Asian market, while its long-term goal is to create a company with a rapid growth that surpasses corporations like Samsung and Apple.
The A4000i is billed as the world’s first wireless and smartphone-connected e-scooters; users can transmit their driving information and even GPS trackers into the scooter through an iPhone. In addition, electric vehicles help users save money, since they don’t need to bear additional expense for gasoline.
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