Hyderabad: A growing number of motorists in the city are switching to budget-friendly and environmentally sustainable electric vehicles (EVs). Catering to this surge in demand, Maaz Ahmed Khan, a 22-year-old Hyderabadi, is converting two-wheelers into EVs.
It all started when he attended the launch of Tata Nexon, an electric car. “I was fascinated by the EVs there. But then I thought why buy new EVs when we can convert our existing ones? Most of us use our two-wheelers for 10-12 years and then it becomes scrap. Instead, we could convert them into EVs and give them a new lease of life,” says Maaz, who has already converted 10 petrol vehicles into fully functioning EVs.
While it is the launch that inspired him to convert petrol-run vehicles, it is a course he took up at his college that first introduced him to the concept. He was a third-year mechanical engineering student at Methodist College of Engineering and Technology when he embarked on a journey to build his own company – Torque Electric.
“I joined a non-academic startup incubator, EdVenture Park, where I started working on my idea. Today, a basic version we provide gives a mileage of around 45 km/hr and a range of 70 km with a single charge of four hours. I am currently working on increasing the range,” he says.
His company offers two conversion options — a complete swap to an EV or a semi-EV. In the semi-electric variant, the quality of the battery will be checked and an additional electric feature will be added through which one can switch to the electric mode whenever they like.
Apart from the two-wheelers, this passionate entrepreneur is working on building electric three-wheelers and hopes to use them to employ women.
