The investments range from battery makers to energy storage to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
Several local and international investors have diligently shown interest in India’s electric vehicle sector, giving the growing space a much-needed boost.
As per data presented by Venture Intelligence, the year 2021 has already recorded 11 investment deals worth $519 million in the sector compared to 13 investments of $165 million value in entire 2020, and 22 deals worth $490 million in 2019.
The investments range from battery makers to energy storage to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The investment tally includes renewable energy companies Fourth Partner Energy and Fortum that also operate in the electric mobility space.
Among some critical investment deals that have been made so far include Hero Electric’s $30 million funding in the first part of its series-B round led by Gulf Islamic Investments (GII) and existing investor Oaks Asset Management to expand production capacity in July.
Battery tech startup Log9 Materials raised around $8.5 million from various investors. Euler Motors, the maker of three-wheeler cargo EVs, raised around $7 million from various investors this year. Ola Electric’s $100-million debt from Bank of Baroda this year is the largest debt financing for the sector.
This comes as the price of petrol and diesel continue to skyrocket, while the government make conscious efforts to promote the adoption of electricc mobility in the country.
Neeraj Mohan, head of EY-Parthenon India (EY’s strategic consulting arm), said that technological breakthroughs have brought down the cost of EVs to within reach of the mass market, and improved consumer sentiment. “India today probably is where Silicon Valley was five years ago in terms of investment opportunities and is catching up fast. As a result, the interest among global investors is high and this is just the beginning,” he said.
“As early movers such as Ather Energy, Magenta Power, Ampere and Okinawa report an uptick in sales, and with the buzz generated by Ola Electric’s vehicles, more private investment is expected to flow into the sector,” said a report from TOI.
Nakul Kukar, co-founder and CEO of fleet-electrification solutions provider Cell Propulsion (which raised $2 million this year), said global VCs and corporate venture arms have been relatively more active in the segment.
