ARC Journey Launches The Corbett Electrical Bike & Automated Battery Swap Stations in Nairobi

ARC Journey designs and builds electrical automobiles, in addition to runs a battery-as-a-service enterprise in Nairobi, Kenya. ARC Journey desires to be the main Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) infrastructure supplier for electrical 2- and 3-wheel automobiles throughout Africa. Final week, ARC Journey launched the Corbett, a sensible and sturdy multi-functional electrical motorcycle, designed for items and meals supply or private commuting.

Listed below are the specs of the Corbett:

• 60 km Vary
• 60 km/h High pace
• 200 kg Payload
• Motor Kind: Hub motor
• Motor Energy: 3 kW
• Battery Kind: Swappable
• Brake Kind: Synchro disc brake
• Mud & Water Resistance IP67
• Wheel Kind: 14″ alloy
• Rear Wheel 4-point adjustable
• Entrance Suspension Anti-dive, 4-point adjustable

ARC Journey desires riders to “unleash their type,” and the Corbett has 5 putting colours riders can select from, together with electrical blue, fiery pink, vibrant yellow, smooth black, and charming olive inexperienced. It has a 1.44 kWh LFP battery and riders can swap their battery packs at certainly one of ARC Journey’s good automated swap stations in Nairobi in underneath 2 minutes. The swap stations had been additionally launched final week alongside the Corbett. ARC Journey has to date put in 40 swap stations round Nairobi and plans to have at the very least 100 swap stations by yr finish.

The swap stations have 405 watts of photo voltaic PV and may also make use of a few of these bike battery packs to again up the swap station together with the photo voltaic PV within the occasion of a grid energy outage.

Riders can get limitless battery swaps from KES 350 ($2.54) per day or go for the usual battery swap from KES 185 ($1.34) per swap. Riders can decide to purchase the Corbett outright for 180,000 ksh ($1,300) or get it through a lease through ARC Journey’s collaboration with a number of financing companions. ARC Journey lowers the boundaries to entry by decoupling the battery as a service from retailing of the electrical bikes. Because the battery is likely one of the most costly parts of the bike, this enables riders to buy the bike at a aggressive worth to comparable inner combustion engine bikes after which lease the battery through the limitless swaps per day or the per-swap mannequin, relying on their vary wants. Paying for the battery swap basically turns into like paying for a “strong gasoline bundle” versus paying for some liters of petrol, however at a a lot decrease price than the price of fossil fuels.

The supply sector is rising in Kenya, and ARC Journey has partnered with companies comparable to Domino’s Pizza deliveries to offer a cleaner, quieter, and extra power environment friendly transport possibility for deliveries. Not like in Asia, the non-public mobility sector that makes use of a majority of these bikes and scooters shouldn’t be but nicely developed. Arc Journey is hoping to be the primary mover at scale on this space.

ARC Journey says, “We’re proud to be main the cost to allow the mass adoption of electrical 2 and three wheelers in quickly rising cities like Nairobi. We obtain this by means of an infrastructure first strategy with our market main self service swapping stations. Every rider has a battery paired to them through the ARC Journey consumer app. It’s then merely a case of scanning a QR code and swapping your battery. An empty door opens, you set your battery in after which a brand new absolutely charged battery is launched to you. It’s a quite simple swap-and-ride course of taking underneath 2 minutes and saves you 40% per km vs petrol.”

Photos courtesy of ARC Journey