Solar Operated YObykes Conquer the Highest Motorable Road

Paras Loomba, a solar energy expert, and Jaideep Bansal, his teammate of Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) have completed the first ever ride to the highest motorable road of the world on solar electric scooters. They reached the highest motorable point, Khardung La Pass situated at 18380 feet on September 14, 2015. The journey took them 4 hours 12 minutes including one hour break for refreshments and proactive charging of scooters.

The famous electric scooters from India, YObykes were used for the expedition. The YObykes are manufactured by one of the biggest EV companies, Electrotherm (India) Limited. The objective of this ride was to promote pollution-free transportation based on solar operated battery scooters at tourist spots. The YObykes used for this expedition were equipped with a 1 KW motor that has a carrying capacity of 1.8 KW. These electric scooters will be used further to create awareness among the youth and educate them regarding alternatives of fossil fuels. These YObykes are currently being tested in Ladakh and will be offered for general use soon.

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Basant Vaishya, Sr. Vice President and SBU Head - Auto Division Electrotherm (India) Ltd, said, “We are very proud of team GHE’s feat of scaling Khardung La Pass on YObykes. This achievement has proven that if Electric YObykes can perform at such difficult terrains, gradient levels and climatic conditions they have the potential to perform phenomenally in the city traffic for our basic transit needs. This also clearly indicates at ET-Auto divisions’ strong R&D capabilities and our abilities to produce such powerful vehicles which are comparable with any tough automobiles machines, which conquer such heights. Clean energy is the need of the hour and with growing concern regarding vehicle pollution & high operating cost of two wheelers Indian consumers have already started switching over to low cost & environment-friendly electric two-wheelers. The region has seen a major upsurge of tourism and associated vehicular pollution, such interventions can definitely help the region reduce emissions and also be a very good transit medium for the city youth and tourists. YObykes were introduced at the Annual Ladakh Marathon last week and created quite a buzz among the city youth. These 2 bikes in the region will be used for promotion and test runs as they have already received an overwhelming response and have started acknowledging inquiries from interested individuals and dealers.”

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After successful completion of the journey, Paras Loomba said, “That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” The same quote was said by Neil Armstrong when he talked about the first step of man on Moon.

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