Arduous, gruelling, fatal, an overdose of adrenaline. These are just some of the terms one would associate with motor racing. Without a doubt, it’s one of the most challenging forms of sports on the planet, and due to its inherent nature, it is also one of the most expensive. Therefore, only a select few can pursue it professionally. One such individual is Narain Karthikeyan. The first Indian to compete in Formula One, the pinnacle of open-top racing in the world, Narain has nearly three decades of racing experience at some of the most prestigious race tracks around the globe. Being the son of GR Karthikeyan, a former Indian National Rally champion, Narain has also been exposed to the world of racing from an early age.
Image Courtesy: @CrystalRacing via X
But like any athlete, a racer has a limited professional span. Because a majority of successful racers find themselves behind the wheel of a go-kart pretty much before they can even learn to speak, they start training and competing at a very early age, due to which they also end up retiring from professional forms of racing well within their thirties. Of course, exceptions to this are active F1 drivers like Fernando Alonso, who continue blitzing race tracks well in their forties. Lewis Hamilton, already 39, is also on the cusp of becoming such an example.
However, Narain’s F1 career was not long. He competed with Jordan in 2005, followed by a stint with the Hispania Racing Team (HRT) from 2011-2012. But this did not mean the end of the road for him. He continued racing in other international formats like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Nascar, Super Formula, and Super GT. And he would have continued well beyond 2019 if not for the curveball life threw at all of us in 2020 – the COVID-19 pandemic.
Image Courtesy: @narainracing via X
During this time, Narain had to re-evaluate his life, and having realised racing may not be a feasible full-time professional career path after the pandemic, he knew that this was the time to embark on his entrepreneurial journey. Having worked with a slew of automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) during his racing days, Narain knew that his business venture would be at the core of the automotive industry. Thus, one fine day during the lockdown, a meeting between Narain and his friend Christopher Sargunam laid the foundation of DriveX, a fully integrated digital platform for buying, selling, and servicing used two-wheelers.
Incorporated in April 2020, DriveX has been on a mission to provide affordable personal mobility in the pre-owned two-wheeler space. Serving as the Managing Director & Founder, Narain, alongside his Chief Technical Officer Christopher, has established DriveX as one of the leading organised players in one of the most unorganised sectors of the used vehicle industry.
But what about Narain’s journey to becoming a full-time entrepreneur? And what about his racing pursuits after DriveX? These were just some of the questions that came to mind. So, we decided to sit down with the man himself and hear all about it straight from the horse’s mouth. Here’s what he had to say.
From winning the Padma Shri in 2010 for your achievements in motorsport to establishing DriveX during the COVID lockdown, what has the journey been like?
I have raced for more than two and a half decades. Towards the end of 2019, I was racing in Japan. I won my final race, which I drove in Fuji. Then, once I came back, I was certainly looking forward to racing again in 2020, but then the pandemic broke out. This was indeed a difficult time. Then I realised that due to my exposure to the automotive ecosystem if I had to do something as an entrepreneur, I would definitely be inclined towards the automotive sector.
So, at the time when we were on the cusp of starting DriveX, a lot of people asked me why not focus on the four-wheelers. Simply put, the opportunity in the four-wheeler market was not as big as it was in the two-wheeler pre-owned space. In 2020, because of the tailwinds of the pandemic, affordable personal mobility was the need of the hour – the opportunity was quite big, something that my co-founder and I soon realised.
So, when we set up the DriveX team, we knew we had a good set of people to go forward with. Right from the outset, both of us (my co-founder and I) were keen on having our dedicated refurbishing centres for the pre-owned vehicles that we would pass on to the customers – the key idea being that these two-wheelers should be as good as new. So, we started DriveX as a subscription and rental platform in August 2020. From there, we pivoted into the retail of these vehicles. Subsequently, this led to the creation of the entire ecosystem comprising a network of sales touchpoints. We are proud of the fact that by now, DriveX has serviced over one lakh customers.
I would say the entrepreneurial journey has been quite different to that of motor racing – the challenges have been different. But, at the end of the day, it’s important to enjoy it. Building a platform as complex as DriveX is something huge, and for me, it’s been a very enjoyable experience. I also think we have possibly built the most structured pre-owned two-wheeler retail platform that exists in the country today.
We think that during the lockdown, personal mobility was the main focus. But everybody seemed to focus on the four-wheeler aspect of it. Very few people seemed to realise that a pre-owned four-wheeler might still be out of reach for many people. So, there was a legitimate opportunity to expand into the used two-wheeler market. Would you agree?
Yes, absolutely right. Because public transport had been greatly affected by the pandemic, so much so that it nearly became entirely non-operational across the country, affordable personal mobility was something on everyone’s mind. We were very clear about what it would take to offer this kind of mobility and my knowledge of refurbishment of vehicles, due to my prior work experience and exposure was quite high.
The fact that we decided to refurbish the used vehicles in-house right from the start allowed us to control the quality. Every time we prepare a vehicle for sale, we try and make sure the customer experience is as close to that of a new vehicle, not just in terms of the quality but in terms of the after-sales and warranty too. Our customers should feel that they have made the right choice.
The way we see it, the business of pre-owned two-wheelers has been and still is, to a large extent, driven by small-scale dealers. We’re not condoning the notion that these dealers supply bad vehicles to customers, but being an organised player in the game, we can provide a more complete and wholesome sales and after-sales experience. Moreover, the support of OEMs is very crucial at the product refurbishing stage – this is something that I feel we have managed to crack. So, this entire ecosystem surrounding the pre-owned two-wheeler business is fundamentally what DriveX stands for.
When did you decide to become a full-time entrepreneur? Was there a moment when you felt you would have to put your motorsport endeavours on the back burner for this? How do you strike a balance between these two aspects of your life?
I could have raced for some more time, but the pandemic proved to be a full stop on all racing activity. But the way I see it, there are plenty of parallels between Formula One racing and the business we run. Not just Formula One but any form of top-tier motor racing is a sport as well as a business. So, I was exposed to the best environment to learn this – I know what a good team means. All these factors helped me put together the DriveX team. We have a very good set of people, and a great team, which has helped to scale up this entire platform in the last two years. Everything that we have done, ranging from the garage software and technologies, which we developed in-house, to the ideation and everything else in between, I’m pretty sure it all came from the knowledge of racing at the top level.
Do I miss racing? You know, it’s the most exciting sport in the world for sure. Of course, I miss it, but what I am doing now is equally challenging. Despite being a young company at a very nascent stage, we possibly are the largest player in the organised sector of pre-owned two-wheelers.
Image Courtesy: @CrystalRacing via X
Even the most die-hard fans of F1 tend to see just the drivers in action, and they forget at some point that F1 is as much a team sport as any other.
Absolutely. Because without a strong team, there’s absolutely no way the outfit can succeed. During my career, I have driven for very weak teams and no matter how good you are, in the end, it’s an entire team of people who achieve the results. And this is what you see in the case of top-notch successful teams, right? They’ve built it. They have a process and get the right people. This is what we have done with DriveX. We are all like-minded people who have come together. At this point, I should mention that TVS has also backed us significantly. In October 2022, they bought a stake in our company. So, I feel we have the right ingredients to scale this up further.
Currently, we have about 47 touch points and achieve about 2,000 retails a month, which we plan to grow periodically. We want to expand most efficiently but in a faster way. To this end, we are working on setting up more refurbishment centres. So, the puzzle is coming together. We feel the opportunity in India for pre-owned two-wheelers is very, very large. We are talking about 25 million transactions per year. That is the size of the market. So, we have a lot of scaling up to do.
Having catered to over one lakh customers already, can you walk us through the consumer response of DriveX? Are there any significant learnings for you and the team?
When we started doing the refurbishment on our own, which was in early 2022, it was not a very elaborate process – we did not include processes like pre- and post-delivery inspections. Over time, these standard practices were included in the overall process and have evolved to a large extent. As a result, the number of complaints percentage-wise, per thousand, has come down significantly. And I think people are looking for trust in a platform like DriveX. They’re also looking for quality. And the after-sales process has to be similar to that of an OEM. This is what we’re now doing at our DriveX Technology Centre, or DTC, as well call it.
When we started the refurbishment process, we also learned a lot about customer expectations. And we do not cut corners. We only use OEM-supplied parts. So, I think we can be very proud of ourselves for creating good quality and sustainable vehicles, which we put back onto the roads.
The general customer feedback has been very positive. And if you ask me, we are possibly competing in the same segment as the organised players. We have a good recall. We did a market survey as well not too long ago. We feel that we are in a good position in terms of customer satisfaction.
Right now, is there just one DTC that you’re operating from?
No. Right now we have two operational DTCs, one in Hosur and one in Coimbatore. We are already in the process of having the third one up and running in the next few months.
When it comes to the refurbishing process, how much have you had to adapt to accommodate electric two-wheelers?
Repurposing pre-owned electric two-wheelers is not an easy task because they haven’t been around for too long. Plus, there’s more technology and software involved compared to mechanical/moving components. The battery management system, thermal management, everything has evolved. Due to these challenges, we currently offer a very limited stock of electric two-wheelers on our platform.
In the future, you will see more such options on DriveX and their repurposing process will also become smoother with time as the numbers keep growing.
If we consider young buyers going out into the market looking for a pre-owned two-wheeler, they are always looking for the best deal. And when we say ‘best deal’, they think about financing options. For DriveX, can you share the percentage of buyers who tend to opt for financing a pre-owned vehicle?
Traditionally, pre-owned vehicles used to be financed by and large by local financiers. We have managed to get the organised players to finance/refinance these vehicles. We have partnered with firms like Bajaj Auto Finance, IDFC Bank, TVS Credit, and a few others to help us with vehicle financing.
In terms of percentage, we have recorded up to 85% of buyers opting for finance options. This can also be attributed to a quick loan approval process, which can be completed in a couple of minutes. So, yes, these are things that, as an organised player, we can bring to the table and solve some of the customer pain points.
We are present in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, and buyers here can be aspirational. Those looking for an entry-level two-wheeler may sometimes want to upgrade to a sporty 150cc motorcycle. This is the kind of migration we have seen – moving to the next segment. But yes, I was personally quite amazed by the aspirations of people in Tier-3 towns.
It’s a common phenomenon to see a buyer come to a vehicle dealership without a made-up mind. They prefer exploring their options, and that’s when the aspiration kicks in, wherein they gauge the prices depending on the segment. And then, if they feel that they are spending an x amount for one particular segment, perhaps x plus some more amount might allow them to jump into the next segment.
Correct. Currently, due to the BS6 emission norms, a new standard 125cc scooter costs about one lakh rupees. Say, a TVS Jupiter, perhaps. And in our case, for more or less the same amount, a buyer can opt for a 150cc scooter or even a motorcycle. Without a doubt, DriveX witnesses a lot of traction for scooter buyers, but then, in smaller towns, we have also seen a willingness to jump into higher segment motorcycles for the price of a brand new 125cc scooter.
Last year, in December, DriveX launched the Xplor engine oil range. What were the factors behind that product launch, and can we expect more product launches in the coming financial year?
Over the past year, we spent a lot of time in the research and development of Xplor, which has been primarily made for more mature, slightly higher-capacity engines. We went to a very renowned oil supplier for this and even got it formulated with their help. We have launched it on a small scale, only for use within our network. So, we are still in the process of evaluating its feedback. However, we have tested this product extensively and are confident about its use.
Why engine oil specifically? It is something that we wanted to get into for use at our dealerships as well as the DTCs. Right now, we go through a significant amount of engine oil to make a business case for it. so, yes, for now, the Xplor range is only available for B2B use within our ecosystem, as we did not have any plans to launch it in the mainstream B2C markets.
Having said that, we feel we are at a very early stage as far as product development is concerned, and venturing into more product line-ups is something that we are not considering for now. Once we reach a certain scale and are present in more locations, then perhaps we can think about product expansion.
Can you elaborate on DriveX’s association with TVS? Have they just been a source of investment? Or have they helped with the operations as well?
So, in terms of setting up the processes, leaning on the network establishment, and getting valuable feedback are some of the areas where TVS has helped us a lot. And, of course, they have invested in the company as well. We depend on them for the expansion of our dealer network, but it’s not only the TVS dealerships but also brands like Bajaj and other OEMs that we work with. However, having TVS as a strategic partner has proved quite successful for us as DriveX.
Currently, you are selling around 2,000 vehicles per month, and you have a presence in 40+ cities across the southern part of the country. What are your expansion plans for the next financial year, and what type of funding are you looking for?
We’re not looking for funding right now. We have about 43 touchpoints at the moment. Expansion-wise, because we are predominantly based in the southern region, we want to go to the central and northern regions as well. To do this, we first need to build more of our DTCs which will allow us to cater to the growing demand in new regions.
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