Jeetender Sharma travelled across India to understand customer niggles with EVs before setting shop in 2015. Now his company, Okinawa scooters is the second biggest EV scooter maker by volume
Jeetender Sharma, founder and MD of Okinawa EVs, in Gurugram
The electric journey of Jeetender Sharma started in 2015. “Cycle waala bhi mere se aagey nikal jaata hai [Even a cyclist ovetakes me],” was what a teenager in Gurugram, Haryana, replied when asked about his experience with an electric scooter. Sharma, then 39, felt awkward to see a wide grin on the boys who were narrating their tale. While crossing a flyover, the second one chipped in, the pillion rider has to walk. “EVs [electric vehicles] are toys,” he said in a dismissive tone.
Sharma was distraught. And rightly so. As head of supplier and quality assurance with Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) for close to 14 years, his Catch-22 situation was understandable. He was one of the top guys behind the success of India’s biggest scooter brand—Honda Activa—which had an impeccable record in mileage, performance and speed. The former Honda employee, now toying with the idea of making e-scooters, decided to travel extensively across cities and smaller towns to gather consumer insight about EVs.
(This story appears in the 19 November, 2021 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)