Oyika brings “Battery-as-a-Service” electric scooters to Malaysia – no waiting to charge, just swap batteries!

After a social media teaser a little over a week ago, paultan.org set out to find out more about Oyika and its plans for battery swapping and electric vehicle adoption locally. Invited to meet with Syed Ahmad Faiz, managing director of Oyika Malaysia, we were informed Oyika Malaysia is set to launch its “Battery-as-a-Service” in Malaysia in the near term, and rollout of its battery swapping stations will take place early next year.

Currently in operation in Cambodia, with some 500 units of Oyika electric scooters roaming the streets, and metropolitan Jakarta where 2,500 units are in daily use, primarily for ride-hailing service Gojek and delivery services, Oyika is set for its region-wide expansion. “Our model is similar to battery swapping service Gogoro but we offer the benefit of a leasing model with no worries about battery usage or replacement,” said Faiz.

The basis of the Oyika battery swapping service is simple, a subscriber, using an electric scooter fitted with an Oyika battery, merely rides up to a battery vending machine, activates the app and swaps a fully charged battery in, riding off in a matter of minutes. The Oyika developed app shows available battery swapping locations and number of available batteries within the user’s travel range and also allows the user to pre-book a battery for a specific time period.

As for subscribing to the Oyika battery eco-system, Faiz said single use, daily, weekly, monthly and annual plans are being proposed. “I cannot give full details as yet but rest assured, the cost will be very acceptable and budget friendly, working in a similar fashion to mobile phone subscription plans,” said Faiz.

Oyika currently has two electric demonstrator scooters in Malaysia, along with a charging station as a proof of concept. Similarly, the Oyika app was demonstrated to paultan.org to show its simplicity and ease of use.

Developing proprietary batteries that promise a true “100-100” electric vehicle, that is, 100 km travel at 100 km/h, Oyika is ready to offer its technology to other manufacturers that are interested. “Especially for the ASEAN region, we can incorporate our battery and battery swapping tech to any suitable EV from any manufacturer,” Faiz said. “Certainly a common battery standard will allow faster adoption of EVs in Malaysia, and throughout the region,” Faiz elaborated, “and Oyika intends to lead the way.”

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