Q&A: Why Roam is planning to buy back degraded batteries

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Where do you take your electric motorcycle battery when it loses its capacity? This is a question that many electric motorcycle operators grapple with. The battery is costly, and replacing it is an expensive affair. This is one of the reasons why Roam will next year start to buy back used batteries from its customers, says Roam Regional Sales Operations Manager Habib Lukaya. 

• In an interview with Mobility Rising, Mr Lukaya said the battery buyback model will enable riders to lower the cost of purchasing a new battery. The battery is the most expensive component of an electric motorcycle.

• “We will buy at a percentage based on the state of health and other parameters. You get half discounted for the new battery that has better cooling, telemetry, range and GPS tracking,” says Mr Lukaya. 

More details

What is Roam’s current production capacity?

Mr Lukaya: We have a production capacity of 50,000 bikes a year. But currently, we are at a point where we are balancing between scaling fast and scaling better, where we maintain the quality of the product and empower the local supply chain here by either tooling and training, as we go into a bigger volume of production next year.

This year, we are doing 3,000 units. And we have been progressively increasing our capacity as we head towards the end of the year. Last month (July), we did 300 units. Now, in August, we have a plan of 350. We keep on increasing as we continue building the local capacity.

Have you been able to meet demand with this production capacity?

Mr Lukaya: At the moment, we sell out everything we produce. So, we have a very big demand, and we're not yet at the point where we can say we've fulfilled the demand. Now, the more we get into it, the more we see more partners being interested. Because I think at the beginning of this year, we only had two partners. And right now, we have three or four partners coming on board. And we're seeing a lot of interest from other institutions that also want to come and offer the same product into their portfolios. So, the demand is there.

The supply constraint is what we are working on, which might be different from other players. Because of the way they do their things, I think most of them import fully built units. And some of them import and come and just assemble here, which is very different from what we're doing.

What advantage does local manufacturing give Roam compared to importing fully-built units?

Mr Lukaya: The advantage of doing local manufacturing is that you're building a local capacity whereby you're empowering the community, adding value to the people where the product is going to live. And then another thing that is actually very good is the turnaround time for iteration. Once we are able to get to a point where we have the production capacity, even if you look at the Gen 2 model of our bike that we recently, we actually released this year. That bike has come about because of the iteration and the feedback we've got from customers.

That is what we want. And we're able to iterate and incorporate that very fast. So, if you compare that with other people who are actually importing, it will take them longer time to iterate a product because by the time you have to collect the feedback, take it back, and then have now the team on where the production is happening, do the testing, the validation, bring it back, it is too late. But for us, we can actually implement change quite faster because we're in the market where we are producing. 

Tell us more about Roam’s plan to buy back batteries and also improve charging speeds?

Mr Lukaya: We are planning to release a new model next year. It will have fast charging capabilities, better durability, better safety features, and is very robust in the market. We are now also going to be offering a battery buyback solution because we promote ownership. We are going to have this buyback for those batteries that we have gotten to a point where it's not giving the riders the same range. We are extending the offer to riders, you can bring it back, we buy your battery, we give you a new battery in return. We buy at a percentage based on the state of health and other parameters. As a rider, you will get half discounted for the new battery. It has better cooling, it has telemetry, GPS tracking, so you can have all these features in the new battery.

Many electric motorcycle riders struggle to find spare parts. How is Roam tackling this challenge?

Mr Lukaya: For Roam, the bike is built with the repairability in mind. Our parts are compatible with the normal brands that are in the market. One of the concepts that we have actually focused on when the bike is being built is the idea that the bike should be able to survive on its own. That's why we actually offer ownership of the battery and charger, meaning you can buy the bike and go to Lodwar and survive with it.

We have tried to make sure that there is a lot of interoperability of components, apart from the electrical bits and the drivetrain, which is the motor, the controller, and the battery. Those are the ones that you still have to come to process warranty and et cetera. But for the other bits that are actually wear and tear, you can replace them from any location.

Should customers expect more range from your next models?

Mr Lukaya: This is usually a very difficult balance between range and charging. Because if you look at it, finding a balance, because there are trade-offs. You might have a bigger battery, which would be heavier, cover more range but then you will have a very long charging time. But then you can have a medium range battery, very light, whereby customers can actually carry them into their houses and charge and have moderate charging time.

So, there is always a trade-off. Do you want range or do you want fast charging? Because if you want range and fast charging, you can incorporate and have a balance in there. We are looking at what is feasible in the country and what is feasible for many people. As it is right now, very few locations have a place where somebody can park the bike for on-board charging. So that's the tricky part. But now what we are doing, we are looking at having the same size of battery, fast charging capabilities and trying to maintain the same range. 

How is demand for your battery rental service?

Mr Lukaya: We have incorporated into our ecosystem a rental model, where you can come and rent a second battery and we bill you per hour. You just come and the battery is Ksh 10 (7 US dollar cents) per hour, and then you can return it. This is for people who do not necessarily need the second battery. But there are those one or two circumstances where you need to go far, so you might need a second battery just for two or three hours.

We give that option, and we have seen that most riders like that option because it increases their earnings in a day. We have seen so many diverse use cases for this. There are those who have two batteries from the go, but they will still come and rent another battery as their battery is charging, taking advantage of our Roam hub. We currently have 15 of them across Nairobi, and we are opening more. So, they come and take advantage of that, come rent a battery and go.