KARACHI: Zyp Technologies, a Lahore-based smart mobility solutions provider, on Tuesday announced raising $1.2 million in seed funding and the launch of its “made-in-Pakistan” electric bikes with battery swapping.
With this seed capital investment led by Indus Valley Capital, the firm is driving mass-market adoption of electric mobility in Pakistan by addressing three key hurdles, high upfront cost, range anxiety and long charging times, according to the Lahore-based smart mobility solutions provider.
It was achieved through its indigenously developed product portfolio that includes purpose-built electric motorcycles, innovative battery swap stations, proprietary and patent pending battery architecture, cloud software and mobile apps.
The company has established an assembly line capable of producing up to 8,000 motorcycles annually, underscoring their commitment to meet demand from business customers and individual buyers.
“The backing from Indus Valley Capital has been instrumental. It is enabling us to build the right localized solution for Pakistan,” said Hassan Khan, co-founder and CEO of Zyp Technologies. “Zyp is building beautiful vehicles as we know everyone is tired of the same 40+ years old motorcycle designs and copycat approaches to EVs.”
With climate change and rising fuel costs in Pakistan, the urgency to electrify transportation has never been greater, according to the Zyp CEO. Zyp’s solutions enable motorcycle fleet operators to save up to 70 percent on fuel costs and eliminate air-polluting emissions, making their operations environmentally sustainable and profitable.
“Pakistan deserves better. Zyp is on a mission to make that happen,” Khan said. “The Pakistani government’s EV (Electric Vehicle) Policy was the triggering point which brought all founders together. Successive governments must hold and evolve the policy to reduce Pakistan’s dependence on oil and to help ensure our cities have clean air once again.”
In 2019, Pakistan approved an ambitious National Electric Vehicles Policy (NEVP), offering incentives aimed at seeing electric vehicles capture 30 percent of all the passenger vehicle and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030, and 90 percent by 2040.
Zyp founders joined forces with a mission to create Pakistan’s own homegrown automotive brand in the clean energy sector, and over the past ten months, Zyp Technologies has made remarkable progress in designing and building its complete solution by using in-house experts, innovators, engineers and a network of local and international suppliers and partners, according to the firm.
Its utility motorcycle, ZUM 2000, has been engineered to be gender-neutral, focused on delivery riders, enabling comfortable day-long deliveries at a significantly reduced cost as compared to all other available options. Fleet operators get state-of-the-art fleet management software that includes advanced features like vehicle tracking, geo-fencing, theft detection, ride monitoring, and vehicle service tracking to effectively manage their fleet of ZUM 2000 motorcycles.
The company says its Zyp Energy battery swap station is also a “pivotal achievement” that lays the foundation for Zyp’s battery-as-a-service (BaaS) business model. It enables compatible motorcycles to be “refueled” within 60 seconds.
“With its vision to electrify the 25 million motorbikes in Pakistan, Zyp is building one of the most important products Pakistan needs to help solve the trade imbalance and high inflation,” said Aatif Awan, a founding partner at Indus Valley Capital.
“Zyp team has meticulously designed their electric motorbikes and battery swapping to perform well in the local environment, creating a remarkable indigenous solution we’re proud to back.”
