Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Three Wheels United (TWU), a global fintech company specialized in EV financing, to procure 70,000 electric three-wheelers (E3Ws) to be deployed in multiple phases across India over a period of 5years.
The initial procurement of these E3Ws by Three Wheels United, averagely priced at Rs 3 lakh and Rs 3.5 lakh for passenger and cargo categories respectively, will be for deployment in Bengaluru and Delhi. As demand in other cities pick up, TWU will expand to those areas as well.
Under this partnership, CESL will aggregate high quality demand for electric three wheelers from multiple cities across India by catalyzing the market through proactive outreach and awareness creation around electric mobility. This will be in addition to the demand that CESL has already received from various cities across the country.
Vehicles will receive subsidy from the FAME II program administered by the Ministry of Heavy Industries to the extent eligible. This arrangement comes as a result of the 100,000-vehicle tender managed by CESL in response to a notification in the Gazette of India to aggregate demand for electric three wheelers. TWU participated in a public call issued by CESL in 2021, soliciting interest from the financing and aggregating community for three-wheelers. TWU had the largest purchase requirement of vehicles that would benefit from the aggregation efforts of CESL.
TWU and CESL will also work on partnerships to drive co-financing of these vehicles at scale. The collaboration aims to utilize the prices discovered under CESL’s tender process – designed to provide affordable, sustainable, clean and green mobility In India. As per the agreement, TWU will procure the vehicles in multiple lots – varying from 100 to 20,000 units – to complete the entire process outlined in the MoU by 2027.
Talking about building a robust EV ecosystem, Ms. Mahua Acharya, MD, and CEO, CESL said, “We are thrilled to be partnering with TWU on this project, honored to have the benefit of their depth and credibility and excited at the prospect of building a fruitful relationship in pursuit of larger goals of sustainable e-mobility and livelihood creation. We also hope that partnerships such as these create the precedence needed in the country for the entry of mainline financing in last mile connectivity.”
Sharing views about this partnership, Cedrick Tandong, Co-founder & CEO, TWU said, “We are happy to be partnering with a like-minded organization like CESL that is focused on solutions that deliver clean, affordable, and reliable energy. At Three Wheels United, our overarching goal is to improve livelihoods for drivers, reduce the climate impact of the transportation sector and accelerate efforts towards sustainable last-mile transportation. This partnership further strengthens our commitment towards eradicating barriers to mass adoption of EVs in India.”