Gajendra Chandel, who hails from the auto industry, and has worked with Tata Motors for five years and Tata AutoComp Systems for over eight years, now plans to explore the start-up space. With a rock-solid foundation in this industry, it is not surprising that he plans to join/invest in BattRE.
Headquartered in Jaipur, BattRE is a technology-driven startup founded in 2017, which provides innovative solutions to tackle the issues raised by carbon footprints, noise pollution, and the hassle of traffic, through e-bicycles and e-scooters.
Nishchal Chaudhary, founder, BattRE, was once the head of marketing for the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan, while at Bharti Airtel. In the past, he has also led the business operations for Essel’s broadband business. He has immense experience with the distribution networks in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Welcoming Chandel on board, Chaudhary says, “His in-depth knowledge and vast experience in the automotive sector will provide us with the necessary impetus and guidance. Under his mentorship, we are confident of achieving our vision of providing an affordable and aspirational e-scooter and taking e-mobility to the heart of India.”
The unique offering of this startup is the IoT-enabled electric scooter supported with a mobile application(app). It is a smart vehicle that uses Cloud-based GPRS to connect with a smart-phone app and store all vehicle-related data online. The app will help the vehicle users to locate the nearest charging points and also predict the scooter’s maintenance-related requirements.
The innovative and smart electric scooter by BattRE runs on lithium ferro phosphate batteries (LiFePO4) instead of lead-acid batteries. Therefore, it provides superior performance and longer operational life. The batteries of this scooter are expected to power it for about six years, providing a carefree experience.
The other prominent experts onboard are Utkarsh Joshi, (Ex-VC, Strategy Consulting & Advisory), Anant Arora (former CEO-Bharti Airtel), Manpreet Oberoi (ex-director Cargill, and American Express), Kshitija Karnik (ex-Citibank, HSBC bank, TVS ) and Kaushal Bansal, a mechatronics expert.
Speaking to HRKatha, Chandel says, “The focus of the government policy on electric vehicles, backed by the entire ecosystem of cleantech has seen a slew of startups in this space, which has tremendous potential to disrupt the market.”
Incidentally, he has a lot on his plate since he is mentoring three startups. One of them is into tech HR. Having mentored BattRE for a few months, Chandel is joining the board as a business strategist market footprint deliver and moreover oversee technology development.
“The business is very promising, has tremendous potential for growth, and is run by very able hands. Moreover, we are working with futuristic technologies,” admits Chandel.
In his early days Chandel has worked with Siemens, where he spent over 25 years. A postgraduate from Punjab University, he holds a master’s degree in public administration.