Startup at 67 – Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Modi (Dr.M) enters the Electric Vehicles Industry to create a clean, green, self-reliant future for India
- Unveils first of its kind electric bus manufacturing facility in ModiCiti, near NCT Delhi
- Plans to enter e-bus, e-taxi. Committed to combat key urban issues like air pollution and lack of public transport infrastructure
New Delhi, 4th March 2016:
● Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Modi (Dr.M), Singapore based entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist, today announced his entry into the Electric Vehicles industry under the brand ‘Smart Dreams’.Smart Dreams is a conscious attempt to provide affordable, completely pollution-free, world-class transportation on Indian roads. While making the announcement, Dr. M said, “I have a dream to see a healthy and happy India.”
● Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Modi (Dr. M) is known for following astute corporate governance practices across his businesses, and for pioneering a series of firsts in business – like transforming white collar productivity with Modi Xerox and pioneering mobile telephony improvements with Modi Telstra and Spice Telecom. Along with e-vehicles, his fund is currently investing in areas like clean energy, smart cities, and healthcare.
● At the press conference, Dr. M is unveiling a first-of-its-kind electric bus manufacturing facility at ModiCiti (next to Muradabad), India.
● An eight-year study, from 2008-2015, conducted by IIT-Roorkee, University of Minnesota, US and University of Surrey, UK has shown that emissions from vehicles in Delhi have increased up to three times between 1991 and 2011; these could rise by up to 19 times by 2020. The study projected greater pollution from buses. Taxis& Cars (30-34%) were found to be producing the highest CO2 emissions during 2011 to 2015; there is likelihood that buses could dominate in the years after 2015.
● ‘Smart Dreams’ aims to take a lead in the pure-electric vehicles segment, by being the first and only Indian corporation to delve into production of pure-electric vehicles, with a primary focus on public transportation. They plan to enter public transportation through e-bus &e-taxi with pure-electric offerings.
● To fulfill this vision, Smart Dreams has tied up with BYD (Build Your Dreams) Auto Industry Co. Ltd. – the world’s leading electric vehicle manufacturer, and an investee company of investment guru Warren Buffett. BYD has set up an electric bus manufacturing plant in southern California in 2014 and has a contract to supply electric buses to Los Angeles County. In the past 2 years, its electric buses or cars have gone into service from Montevideo(Uruguay) to Jakarta.
● Given the rising concern about pollution and public health in the Indian capital, and to realize the government’s vision of a clean and pollution free India, Smart Dreams is one of the first automobile industry player to display its commitment and offer two pure-electric buses to Delhi Government for free trial. These buses are currently being tested on a commercial route pre-allocated by the Delhi Transport Corporation.
● The bus is completely air-conditioned with first class comfortable seating facilities, and has a battery life of more than 4000 recharging cycles. It can cover a distance of 250 Kms with a fully charged battery. Further, the battery used is recyclable, and addresses this environmental concern as well.
● In line with the government’s ‘Make in India’initiative, the vehicles will be manufactured in India.
● Power stations and grids remain underutilized during the night hours, with these E-vehicles being charged in the night hours, the energy will be utilized efficiently thus resulting in a higher social return on capital.
● “The government is committed to turn the country into smart and clean India, and has announced many initiatives and projects in this direction. In an environment where development is being directed towards sustainable coexistence, I believe that this will be a highly successful project for the Smart group. We have partnered with the world’s largest player in the e-vehicle market, BYD Company Limited (BYD), to bring in world class technology to the country,” said Dr. M.
● Dr. M further added, “Today, countries like China have put air quality on same priority as core sectors like infrastructure and defense and it’s about time India did the same. For the same, the Govt. in India will have to take bold steps and incentivize citizens and industry players to adopt electric vehicles. One of the ways we could encourage the industry is by making it a zero tax (duties, customs, excise etc.) industry.”
● Mr. Liu, BYD Company Limited (BYD), said, “Sixteen years ago, we had this dream about China, and we today have been able to achieve this through our consistent efforts. India is a very big market for us, and with the business environment being favorable we feel it’s the right time for us to capture the e-vehicle market of the country. We are proud to collaborate with Smart Group in this endeavor in India.”
About Dr. M:
Singapore based future-prenuer, investor and philanthropist Dr M, leads a diversified business conglomerate with business interests in the mobility, finance, healthcare, education, entertainment and electric vehicle sectors. He has keen interest in Omniscience and has extended his support by producing OMG (Oh My God!) and TV serials Buddha.
Dr. M is a global citizen and has residences in many cities across the world. He is a regular feature in the list of Forbes 50 richest people in Singapore. He is also the founder of Global Citizens Forum, a Singapore based non-profit organization where he is attempting to create a world without borders, gender, nationality.
Dr. M has been known for bringing the latest technologies into India by forging partnerships with industry leaders like Xerox, Alcatel, Telstra, Olivetti, Telekom Malaysia, and Singapore Telemedia amongst others. Headquartered in Singapore, he has a global footprint across India, ASEAN, China, Africa, USA and the UK.
About BYD Company Limited (BYD)
BYD Company Ltd. is one of the world’s largest companies in the electric vehicle space and the largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries. Specializing in pure-electric vehicles, their green mission to “solve the whole problem” has made them industry pioneers and leaders in several High-tech sectors including High-efficiency Automobiles, Electrified Public Transportation, Environmentally-Friendly Energy Storage, Affordable Solar Power and Information Technology. In 2015, BYD sold the most renewable energy powered vehicles in the world making its presence in 190 cities across 43 countries.
BYD and all of their shareholders, including the great American Investor Warren Buffett, see these environmentally and economically forward products as the way of the future. BYD has made a strong entrance to the North, Central and South American markets with their battery electric buses, and lineup of automobiles.
Originally founded in 1995, BYD is a listed company on Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The company is principally engaged in rechargeable batteries and automobile business with special focus on new energy Electric vehicles. Currently BYD holds the position of being the leading global manufacturer of electric vehicles. It has also forayed into solar farms, energy storage stations, LED etc.