Gravton Quanta – The Tiny EV That Has Entered The Asia Book Of Records

Electric vehicles are at an all-time high and while most of these new EVs from established manufacturers as well as startups are relatively well known at this point, there are also quite a few that seem to have flown under the radar. Case in point: The Gravton Quanta. Gravton Motors was founded on the grounds of trying to make EVs as easy to live with as a fossil fuel powered vehicle. Their first and at present only offering is this; the rather radical looking Quanta electric scooter. This scooter has been around since June 2021 but I don’t blame you for not having heard of it before. They say they’ve redefined the appearance of a conventional scooter such that the new design is inspired by a more practical and robust outlook although I can’t help but noticing it does look an awful lot like a glorified version of one of those old TVS Super XLs. Anyways looks are subjective so I won’t go too much into that. The Quanta is fully developed and engineered ground up in Hyderabad and is designed specifically with the Indian two wheeler market in mind.

The Quanta produces 172Nm torque at the wheel, has a power output of 3Kw and a maximum range of 150KM in economy mode. It also comes with 3 riding modes and smart connectivity which allows you to locate a nearby Gravton battery swap location where you can simply swap your discharged battery for a new fully charged one. This scheme is part of Gravton’s plan to making owning an EV as easy and convenient as possible. I personally think this battery swapping initiative is extremely appealing from a user’s point of view since it reduces the time taken to tank up the vehicle dramatically and brings the timeframe very close to that of the refuelling time of an ICE vehicle.

This scooter is available for purchase starting at an ex-showroom price of Rs.1.09 lakh rupees ex-showroom (Pune). Prices vary slightly depending on what city it’s being purchased from.

Well even if you hadn’t heard of Gravton before, you will have now because this Hyderabad based company has achieved something truly spectacular which has put them on the map. Gravton have recently announced that their Quanta electric scooter has completed a ride from Kanyakumari to Khardung La in the shortest time without stopping for charging. By covering 4011.9km in 164 hours 30 minutes i.e. 6.5 days, Gravton has entered the Asia book of records. Kanyakumari is the southernmost point of India and Khardung La is one of the most Northernmost points and is also the highest motorable pass in the world situated at an altitude of 17,582 feet above sea level.

The team rode the vehicle non-stop from Kanyakumari to Manali and only halted in Manali to acclimate before proceeding further towards Khardung La. Riders were presumably switched throughout the duration in order to keep going non-stop. The Gravton team also had a mobile battery swapping station with them during the ride which enabled quick recharging and replacing of the batteries without having to wait for the batteries to charge at an external electricity source. What’s extremely impressive here besides the enormity of the distance covered by this tiny electric scooter is its reliability; Gravton states that the Quanta had zero problems during the entirety of the journey and never broke down once. They go on to say that the Quanta’s thermal management system was designed to perform well in very low temperatures such as those present in Ladakh, where their massive ride ended. The scooter has the world’s first rib caged chassis which is designed and engineered to secure all the internal components of the vehicle in the roughest of scenarios so it’s clear that Gravton had such cross country rides in mind while developing their Quanta electric scooter.

This just goes to show that electric scooters and electric vehicles in general are not to be underestimated at all. Vehicles with the most humble of beginnings can be destined to achieve amazing things and now at least we know for sure that the adventure will go on even when the fossil fuel stops.