According to Anjali Rattan, Chairperson of RattanIndia, electric vehicle as a product is very female friendly, which is the reason that about 5% of Revolt India’s bikes are bought by females. On the occasion of Women’s Day, Anjali Rattan talks to Outlook Business about her journey leading an OEM, gender parity in the automobile sector and the company’s focus on AI. Edited excerpts:
Currently, Bihar, Maharashtra and Rajasthan are the top markets for Revolt. Are you planning to focus more on South India now?
We have 200 dealerships all across India. I wouldn't say we are not in South. We do a lot of sales there. But it's actually the tier 2, 3 and tier 4 cities which are adapting to this (EV) change much faster than others. For them, cost saving is substantial (compared to a petrol bike).
Maybe they get very less electricity but they have generators. So I see a lot of sales happening there compared to metros and tier 1.
How are you using AI at Revolt and how will it impact the workforce?
We have an AI call center. We have fed all the data to it. It knows what the features of the bike are. So, we get better productivity and engagement from the AI call center. AI will make the jobs of many redundant. These call centers will go. Why would there be any human intervention when an AI can take care of everything?
At Revolt, we use AI to call customers to check if they need vehicle service or something. You can use our AI chatbot (to check) regarding technology, products, services or dealerships.
And even if you can't type or write, you can speak with it on WhatsApp even in regional languages.
Earlier, I used to get seven, eight visitors (on the website) in a day. The moment I made it AI-based, I had about 2,000 visits. Out of them, around 200 people leave their phone numbers as well. So we have a lot of data for doing sales.
Though some of the jobs are becoming redundant but new things coming up as well. We're now trying to hire more people with a know-how of AI and also trying to train our people in AI.
About 5% of your bikes are bought by female customers. Does the company have any strategy for female customers?
EV as a product in itself is very female friendly. You don't have to go for a service or any fuel change. It becomes very convenient for a female (to have an EV).
EV in itself doesn't have an engine. It doesn't have that wear and tear that usual bikes have. No service, only certain maintenance is needed.
Secondly, everything has become automatic. It's just on and off. You can operate your bike, get to know all your status on your mobile app like how much the battery is charged, where you are, your location, and all. And, so that's another added advantage for females
Females like the thrill too. It's just that they were thrown into the scooter world because bikes were heavy. You'll be surprised a lot of sports bike female users that we have rather than a typical commuter segment.
You are one of the few women leading an OEM in India. How easy or difficult has been this role for you?
A female is a multitasker. It was easier for me because I was in business since the last two decades. I had a real estate business and then had a solar power business. So it's not something which is new to me, being an OEM chairperson.
But OEM as a business is not one of the easiest businesses. It is very different (from others). Here, one has to be an expert in manufacturing because it plays a big part. The other part is R&D. You have to constantly work on the launch of new bikes. The third aspect is technology. EV is a technology that is plugged with a typical bike. So you have to keep working on that.
All these things have to be put together in one person (to head an OEM). So, it's very challenging. But I believe the more the problems, the more the opportunities.
Being a woman, how do you ensure gender parity in the workforce at Revolt?
I'm still not very happy with the representation of female workforce here. It is less than 20%. I want to raise it to 50%. In manufacturing, there are females, but at the lowest salary level. My vision is to have females the top level.
It also depends on the industry as well. There are not enough skilled females available in the OEM industry. So, I wouldn't say that I can achieve that (50% target) in next one or two years. It's a long battle.
We (OEM industry) will have to go to colleges and collaborate with them in a way so that it creates an interest (among the female students).
What advice would you give to the upcoming generation of women entrepreneurs?
I would say don’t shy away of taking help. And never try and chase perfection because you can't be best in all. Always be financially independent so that you can think independently.
I think respect of any individual comes with how much you're earning. Unfortunately, it's the state of affair right now.
