Qargos has unveiled its electric two-wheeler – the F9 – at the Dassault Systemes 3DExperience World 2024 exposition, which has identified a key void in India’s fledgling last-mile logistics market.
The company says its research shows about a fourth of two-wheelers on India’s roads deployed for last-mile delivery of products and services, experience a challenging vehicle format that does not allow proper storage space for the cargo in transit.
Alok Das, co-founder, Qargos, said, “Therefore, we identified this white space in the market wherein there was room to offer a customised two-wheeler solution to deliver light cargo in a safe, convenient, and speedy manner.”
Das bootstrapped this venture with the intent of designing a vehicle that could innovatively solve the rider’s problem of carrying the cargo’s load on their shoulders while riding a two-wheeler to deliver goods or services, a common sight in India’s metropolitan cities. The Qargos F9 is the result of the company’s research around this problem statement, and has been designed from scratch in a concise timeframe of less than 24 months.
The company used Dassault Systemes’ 3DExperience suite of tools, including Solidworks for design and Simulia for virtual vehicle simulation, to create the final product, which it claims is currently being tested by one of India’s leading global logistics companies as well as the defence sector. Qargos also views the F9 as a two-wheeled ambulance that might serve as a first responder vehicle in congested Indian cities.
“Our product is going to cut across segments and is likely to create an overlap between electric two- and three-wheeler customers. If we are able to convert these customers, we see potential of clocking sales of around a million units in less than five years,” Das added.
Dassault Systemes senior spokesperson, said, “We are looking to extend our engagement with startups beyond design, and offer them end-to-end solutions, including the virtual layout of the shopfloor as well.That is the power of the 3DExperience platform and we could expand the respective application tools based on the customer’s requirements.”
While Qargos aims to price the F9 in the region of Rs 150,000, ex-showroom, Qargos will also be willing to tie up with players like Zypp Electric, which is a growing EV delivery services provider in the country. “We are looking at leasing partners, and several of them are startups themselves. We also intend to talk to the government for financing the vehicle under the Mudra loans that encourage micro-entrepreneurship in the country,” Das said.