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As part of the “ETOwali/SheAuto” rally, ETO Motors, MOWO Social Initiatives and SIDBI are on a mission to enable the EV Ecosystem in every town it visits during the course of the rally. ETO Motors is paving the way for an electrified India while empowering communities. SIDBI is supporting EV adoption through financial and non-financial innovative solutions.
Hyderabad, 16 March 2024: ETOwali/SheAuto, India’s first all-women electric 3-wheelers rally from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, reached Hyderabad after successfully covering over 1000 kilometers in 8 days. A joint effort by ETO Motors, India’s largest Electric Mobility as a Service (EMaaS) Company; the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI); Trinity Cleantech Pvt. Ltd., a leading Charge Point Operator with over 800 EV Charging Stations in the country; Saera KETO, one of the largest manufacturers of e3Ws; and MOWO Social Initiatives, a social enterprise committed to empowering women with mobility as a skill, the rally has successfully re-imagined sustainable livelihood of rural and urban women alike.
“ETOwali/ #SheAuto” is India’s first all-women rally which has an 8-member crew, driving electric 3-wheelers, an electric motorcycle and an electric SUV covering 3333 kilometres in 30 days. Passing through Kanyakumari, Madurai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Indore, Jaipur, Delhi and finally culminating in Jammu, the rally is successfully raising awareness about electric vehicles and how electric 3-wheelers are the optimal employment opportunity for women looking for a stable livelihood.
As part of the “ETOwali/SheAuto” programme and with support from various State Transport and Women Welfare Ministries, the all-women crew is conducting specially curated workshops for the benefit of women who would want to consider driving e3Ws as a sustainable livelihood option. With the objective of recruiting over a one thousand women and training and empowering them to drive e3Ws as a livelihood option, these workshops are drawing huge crowds. The workshops are playing a vital role in driving awareness about EVs and how women can become micro entrepreneurs through auto driving with flexibility of choosing working hours and increasing their earning capabilities.
The ETOwali/SheAuto rally is using Saera KETOs Trilux Next e3W, which is a robust electric 3-wheeler with an unparallelled range of 140 kilometers on a single charge. Trilux Next are manufactured by Saera KETO in their state-of-art manufacturing capacities in Jadcherla (Telangana) and Bawal (Haryana) and boast pioneering design and innovative features, including Fast Charge technology, a Vehicle Control Unit (VCU), and top-tier safety and comfort for drivers and passengers alike. Saera Keto is a joint venture between KETO Motors, a 100% subsidiary of ETO Motors, and Saera Electric, a leading EV manufacturer.
Trinity Cleantech Pvt. Ltd., amongst the country’s leading Charge Point Operator and an ETO Motors Group Company, is further helping strengthen its commitment to drive and promote the cause of EVs by creating a robust EV Charging infrastructure. Under its #HarGharThunder programme, Trinity Cleantech Pvt. Ltd. is enabling women in rural and urban areas by installing electric charge points at their homes, thus providing them with additional income opportunities. As part of this initiative, the Thunder Lite 3.3 KW AC Charger is being given free of cost to select women thus empowering them and making them entrepreneurs instantly while welcoming them into the EV World.
ETOwali/SheAuto is also supported by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) which has been instrumental in taking up various initiatives for the development and promotion of e3Ws through its popular #ShEAuto programme. SIDBI, under its Mission 50K-EV4ECO aims at strengthening the EV ecosystem in India, including uptake for two, three and four-wheelers through direct and indirect lending. The objective of this scheme is to provide access to affordable financing for electric vehicles and to develop charging infrastructure, including battery swapping.
SIDBI has already launched two financing schemes viz. Direct lending to MSMEs and Scheme for lending to NBFCs. Under its direct lending scheme, SIDBI directly gives loans to eligible MSME’s for the purchase of electric vehicles and other EV ecosystem players active in developing charging infrastructure including battery swapping. The Indirect scheme enables small unrated/ focused /emerging NBFCs actively engaged in EV financing by providing them with funds as refinance facility.
#ShEAuto is supported by SIDBI to spread the green message across the country especially among women. Idea is to sensitise women on EV as also circular economy (reduce/reuse/revive/recycle), energy efficiency, nurture the nature and going solar. SIDBI intends to revive the Indian ethos of respect to environment and social aspects in all walks of life. In line with its logo SIDBI is committed to blue and green economy supported by entrepreneurial eco system.
ETO Motors has, through its ETO EMPOWERS Programme, provided employment opportunities to women across the country. It has a significant fleet size of e3Ws on its platform and is providing fair employment opportunities to women drivers, from across India, along with providing highly rewarding incentives & benefits like health and life insurance coverage.
As part of the strategy to incentivize Women drivers, ETO Motors has also launched its DRIVE-TO-OWN and DRIVE-TO-RENT Scheme. Through this scheme, ETO Motors hires driver partners and provides free UNLIMITED CHARGING at specially designated EV Charging points being set up by ETO Motors; FREE vehicle maintenance by experts; and free DRIVER PARTNER INSURANCE. Once they have partnered with ETO Motors for 36-months, the driver can become the owner of the vehicle after paying a written-down value.
Currently, ETO Motors partners with metro rails like Delhi Metro, Nagpur Metro, Hyderabad Metro, and Pune Metro for passenger first and last and last mile connectivity. It is also driving growth in the passenger market through tie-ups with ride aggregators (Uber) and last mile delivery solutions for Amazon, FlipKart, BigBasket, Gati, DHL, Blue Dart, Bisleri, ShadowFax, BlowHorn, Exide etc.
