Air Link launches AirV electric bikes with a 200 km claim and no price
The Lahore smartphone assembler unveiled 11 models in six series on 4 November. The only hard number is the range, and the battery needed to reach it is a question the launch left open.
Air Link Communication has given its electric bikes one number, a range of up to 200 km, and left out the ones a buyer needs: price, battery size and warranty. The Lahore smartphone assembler, listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange, launched its AirV brand on 4 November with 11 models in six series. It had confirmed the date a week earlier, and 200 km is a maximum that depends on the variant.
The company says the bikes have cruise control, regenerative battery technology, NFC and anti theft systems. They will be sold to individuals and to enterprise customers through Air Link's nationwide distribution network, and the company names its existing plant in the Sundar Green Special Economic Zone in Lahore as the production site.
The project began on 23 July, when Air Link's board approved an electric bike manufacturing project under the AirV name. The company told the exchange in a material information filing under Section 96 of the Securities Act, 2015. The filing describes an assembly plant at the Sundar Green zone and a strategy of diversifying into technology driven mobility. It gives no investment amount, capacity or start date.
Imports first, local assembly later
At its annual general meeting the company said the first bikes would come from international partners offering competitive prices, according to a note by the brokerage Arif Habib Limited. Local assembly would grow over time towards a target of up to 95 percent localisation. The replaceable lithium ion batteries would initially be bought in Pakistan.
A target of 95 percent localisation describes the end of a long road. The Lahore plant is an assembly plant and the first units are imported, so the early product is not a Pakistani design or a Pakistani build.
Our reading of the 200 km claim
Electric two wheelers typically use about 3 to 6 kWh for every 100 km in mixed riding, depending on speed and load. At that rate a true 200 km needs a battery of roughly 6 to 12 kWh. Lithium ion packs for two wheelers hold about 100 to 150 Wh per kg, so that is 40 to 120 kg of cells. A single pack a rider can lift out weighs far less, so the longest range variants need either a large fixed pack or several swappable ones. The company has not said which.
Regenerative braking returns some energy in stop and start traffic, but it refines range rather than creating it. It cannot make up for a small pack.
The battery is also where the buyer's real cost sits. It is the most expensive part of an electric bike and the part that wears out first, so the replacement battery price and the warranty terms matter more than the motor. Air Link's phone retail reach is an advantage for sales. After the sale, battery supply and service are what decide whether owners stay.
Model by model prices and specifications are still unpublished. Air Link's own date for first deliveries is about a week after the launch, which puts them around 11 November.
