Sustaining Subscription Economy in EVs
First introduced in India a few years ago, the Electric Vehicle (or EV) industry has already established itself in its nascent stage. The number of EVs that currently are running on the Indian Streets is promising, with the potential to grow more than twice in the upcoming years. According to data provided by the Society of Manufactures of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), 2,36,802 electric vehicles were sold in FY 2020–21, out of which 88,378 units were electric three-wheelers. Moreover, cargo space giants, such as Mahindra Logistics, DHL, Amazon and numerous others have already made substantial investments to employ more EVs in their cargo fleet in the subsequent years.
Before we proceed further, let us ponder upon the concept of Subscription Economy. Subscription Economy is a business model in which a customer receives access to a desired product or service in exchange for recurring payments at regular intervals. So essentially, rather than establishing the general pay-per-product model, the companies sell the recurring subscriptions of a product to consumers in exchange of access to the said product over time. Quite apparently, the concept of Subscription economy is not new; you read your newspaper while reading the Times of India and finally, turn to Netflix to watch your favourite show. We are encompassed with the Subscription Economy Business Model without even realizing it.
Subscription Economy aims at providing seamless deliverance of required content, while catering to the requirements of the audience; for a subscription can always be withdrawn. It’s more about constantly trying to overcome the issues faced, rather than handing over the ownership of a product which may be rendered obsolete should new technical advancements emerge. Instead of providing ‘perfect’ product or service, Subscription Economy aims at providing a ‘responsible’ product or service, depending on what and for how long does the consumer demand it, and a ‘responsive’ interface of communication where consumer feedback is highly valued.
The global drift towards Subscription Economy is driven by changing customer preferences and a competitive pressure that arise from digital incumbents adopting this business model.
EV is a budding market in India, and adopting the Subscription Economy would cater to the Investor’s appetite, because investors look for business capacities and the Subscription business model is a pretty consolidated approach to business, especially when it comes to a business in its embryonic stage. Moreover, EV also faces a disadvantage of short driving range and speed. This is being worked upon and hopefully, a solution will be provided in the coming years. This is also where the Subscription Economy will work adequately, because instead of providing a generalized product which runs the chance of turning obsolete after some time, the companies will provide a customized product that conforms to the present requirements of customers, along with additional equipment that help in tackling any prevalent issue.
Thankfully, as the market and industry for EVs grow, it will become increasingly easy to gather customer feedback and look for necessary improvements. This is a sustainable method to drive subscription over time
DbyT Dynamics is an electric vehicle firm with a fleet of light commercial vehicles based in India. We are an EV rental service whose objective is to provide technically equipped EVs on rent at a minimal price.
Being in this business for two years, we know how to properly satisfy customer requests while also providing additional benefits. Currently our fleet comprises Two-wheelers and Three-wheelers, and we are constantly working on augmenting it. We are an EV rental service whose objective is to provide technically equipped EVs on rent at a minimal price.
