“We are looking at investors who have a broader horizon and a much larger picture in the mind to drive the entire ecosystem rather than being limited to a particular system,” Mehta added
E-mobility startup HOP Electric is looking to raise at least USD 30 million (over Rs 200 crore) in a Series A round to fund its plans to expand its product portfolio as well as dealership network.
In an interaction with PTI, HOP’s founder and CEO Ketan Mehta said, “We have started our fundraising process now. We are looking to close at least USD 30-million (around Rs 200 crore) before the end of this financial year in Series A.”
Stating that the company is open to investment from any market – domestic or overseas, he said, “We just don’t want to be limited to be an automobile manufacturer. We have to align our thoughts with the investor in a complete ecosystem, ranging from integrated manufacturing to energy infra as well as NBFC financing and swapping, among others, which falls into our plans.”
“We are looking at investors who have a broader horizon and a much larger picture in the mind to drive the entire ecosystem rather than being limited to a particular system,” he added.
A few days ago, the Jaipur-based startup announced setting up a second production plant in the city to add capacity of 1.5 lakh units per year by February 2022. The company currently has a manufacturing facility in Jaipur, which can produce 50,000 units per annum and can be expanded up to 1-lakh units.
Hop Electric has so far invested Rs 45 crore on its own in the business, which has been largely utilized in R&D, product development and team building, Mehta added.
“Our strategy is an ecosystem kind of play. It is much more and bigger than a pure two-wheeler manufacturer,” Mehta said, adding that the company has spent close to Rs 20-25 crore in R&D alone, which it carried out for two years before entering the EV space.
On the product expansion plans, Mehta said that in the immediate run, the company will be launching an e-bike by October-November and in addition to that it will also roll out a scooter within this fiscal.
“Early next fiscal we are looking to launch another scooter. In all, we will be having three new products in the next 6-9 months,” he said.
The company hit the market with two e-scooters in January this year, and is gearing up to launch another vehicle model, an e-bike, OXO, by October-November this year, which will be followed by two more scooters over the next six-nine months, Mehta said.
HOP Electric should be hitting around 30,000 units “and after the bike launch, next year we are looking at 1.50 lakh units annually,” Mehta said.
