Globally, the automotive industry is switching to less energy-intensive options of mobility to reduce the environmental impact following various Countries’ increased commitment to reduction in greenhouse gas emissions at the 26th Conference of Parties meeting (CoP 26) in the United Nations.
To circumvent the impact of increasing oil import bills, Indian government’s policy initiatives over the last couple of years has accelerated the adoption of e-mobility, resulting in total sales of approx. 80,000 vehicles so far*.
The purchase of Electric Vehicles (EVs) is well incentivized with the rollout of various subsidies to both manufacturers and buyers. The Department of Heavy Industries, in its updated ‘Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME-II) scheme’ has extended the provisions for 2 years applicable till 31st March 2024, to enhance adoption, and boost the EV charging infrastructure set up. Second phase of the FAME scheme aims to support 55000 e-4 Wheeler Passenger Cars, and 10 lakh e-2 Wheelers apart from other EVs. Further, the most recent Government of India’s (GOI) ambitious INR 26,058 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Auto, wherein the goal is to bolster India’s manufacturing capabilities.
With EV acquisition costs set to come at par with internal combustion engine vehicles in the next two-three years, the market for electric vehicles for commercial use is expected to grow to $150 billion by the end of the decade, as per industry estimates.
A brief insight into a few of the unique start-ups that have caught investors’ attention:
HOP Electric Mobility
HOP Electric, India’s fastest-growing electric vehicle manufacturer with a Comprehensive Eco-system Approach, has closed a strategic round of $ 2.6 million as part of an ongoing USD 10 million pre-series fundraiser. The company has achieved the milestone of reaching 105 retail touchpoints with 6200+ on-road scooters in 2021, and with this fundraising, HOP Electric Mobility is targeting 10X growth this year.
HOP Electric is a successful mandate holder of the Government of India’s (GOI) ambitious Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Auto will be investing more than INR 2000 crore in India in the next five years. HOP Electric Mobility has also embarked on its multi-battery modular platform’s design and engineering journey. The company is developing Gen 2 Smart Batteries and Swapping stations. It will roll out two new products on the new platform supported by Gen 2 batteries and a swapping station in FY23.
HOP Electric has two unique two-wheelers – HOP LEO and HOP LYF, which have garnered immense consumer traction. It is now gearing up to launch a high-speed electric bike named HOP OXO. As OXO goes through an extensive testing cycle across geographies, it is expected to be a very robust product.
RevFin committed to accelerate EV adoption
RevFin – a leading EV financing organisation that eases accessibility to Electric Vehicles and adoption for under-banked & underserved, enabling micro-entrepreneurism. The new age digital e-mobility consumer lending platform has recently raised an amount of 100 cr funding in debt. The funding round led by Northern Arc, Liquiloans, UK charity Shell Foundation, and others will help Revfin expand the e-rickshaw financing businesses.
RevFin and Hero Electric have inked an agreement to jointly finance and lease 2,50,000 electric two-wheelers over the next three years and collaborate with multiple e-commerce, logistics, and fleet operations companies to fulfil the objective. RevFin is helping in the financing of electric vehicles in semi-urban areas, mainly in tier 3 and tier 4 towns. RevFin aims to disburse Rs 40,000 crores for 17 lakh electric vehicles, in the next five years.
Trouve Motor
Trouve Motor is a manufacturer of high-speed electric motorcycles and sports cars, bringing in Block-chain integrated structure with its own metaverse ecosystem. Trouve Motor has been incubated in FasterCapital’s Raise Capital program to raise about $3M for its seed funding round. The objective is to raise funds to the tune of $25M by the end of this year. Through this program, FasterCapital, one of the top venture capital firms based in Dubai, will connect Trouve Motors with its vast network of angel investors.
Trouve will roll out an advanced hyper-sports bike, which is designed to reach a speed of over 200 km/hr and also a range of around 350-500 km. A versatile Chassis which will be used to make four bikes – Hyper sports bike, toned down Indian version, Naked street bike and Enduro, to cater to all segments of the customers in a small turnaround time. Following the glimpse of its hyper-sports bike recently, Trouve Motor is now up with its first Hyper Maxi Scooter, H2. The futuristic scooter is completely designed in India at Trouve’s R&D facility in Bangalore.
Tadpole Projects
Tadpole Projects, a startup electric-mobility company incubated at Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) for Cobotics, of IIT Delhi – the only home grown company retrofitting ICE to EVs. Launched in August 2020, Tadpole Projects is the pioneer in retrofitting ICE cars and aims to address issues around fossil-fuel-based vehicles, scrapping policy, and expensive vehicles by retrofitting, thus making renewable mobility accessible to everyone.
Tadpole recently converted its first premium car, C-180, C-Class of arguably the most sophisticated car manufacturer – Mercedes Benz. Tadpole Projects made its mark in the history of India’s Automobile sector by flag bearing the first IC Vintage Car conversion to EV – Austin 10 (1936) and Volkswagen Beetle (1948).