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State Of Play: EV Startups

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Estimated to reach $15,397 Bn by 2027, the Indian Electric Vehicle (EV) market is housed by various small and large startups. The startups are offering a bagful of services including sustainable mobility, energy infrastructure, commercial mobility, and battery management system among the startups in action. The solutions and services are offered to the general masses and other organizations.

Main Cause of EVs and Growth
EV startups are in addition working as a growth catalysts serving the sectors of FMCG and Logistics. The main cause of investment for EVs is Global Warming which is affecting the planet, where countries are finding solutions in terms of minimizing the usage of greenhouse gas emitting transport vehicles. Governments and startups are playing a vital role in diminishing the effects of global warming. The startups in India have been playing a major role in fighting the global warming effects and are placed in third position after the United States and China. With pollution from vehicles as a major cause of global warming, clean mobility is playing a big role in fighting as many Indian EV startups such as Ather Energy, Altigreen, BOLT, and Baaz Bikes are manufacturing sustainable solutions.

According to the Department of Promotion and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in 56 diverse sectors, more than 4500 startups are helping in the development of emerging technologies such as the internet of things, artificial intelligence, analytics, and more. The number of EV startups in India grew to 72,993 in 2022 from 471 in 2016 and the startups are offering gallop of services in addition to sustainable mobility which includes energy infrastructure, commercial mobility, battery management, general masses and thereby helping in the reduction of carbon emissions by offering alternative fossil fuels. The projected growth of the automotive sector will be caused by electric vehicles and by 2030, India targets to become a 100 percent EV nation. As per a report published by Global Investment Firm Credit Suisse, electric scooter sales in India touched a new high of 3.3 percent in February 2022 and it is a jump of 1.9 percent from January, directing to higher adoption of electric scooters in the country. Electric vehicles are considered to be the niche vehicles in the grand scheme of the automotive industry, pumping out millions of cars per year. The startups are gaining recognition in a hurry and claiming their stake in the era of electrification.

Electric vehicles are considered to be the niche vehicles in the grand scheme of the automotive industry, pumping out millions of cars per year. The startups are gaining recognition in a hurry and claiming their stake in the era of electrification


Contribution by Startups
•Renowned startups from Bengaluru have become India’s first smart electric scooter manufacturers. The startups are generating a resultant of four lakh units per annum which are as opposed to the current 1.2 lakh units per annum. In addition, the startups are focused on lithium-ion battery manufacturing.

•Another startup, which is renowned for cab services has been successful in introducing electric scooters. The startup is planning to set up an INR 2400 crore (~US$320 million) manufacturing plant in the state of Tamil Nadu with a production capacity of 10 million units.

•A Bengaluru-based ride sharing startup has entered the EV market and announced its first scooter with the model of ‘Battery-As-A-Service'. The startup planned to offer its electric scooter sans battery at a price point of INR 45099 where customers can swap out their batteries at dedicated locations by paying a fee of INR 80. There will be selling of scooters with pre-fitted batteries.

•In recent times, Bengaluru-based cell propulsion has developed an integrated electric powertrain for electric buses and LCVs. The cell propulsion provides solutions that include fleet management and tracking, operations and maintenance, buy back guarantee, and data analytics. The startup last year raised $2 million from its existing investors for accelerating the adoption of eCVs and execution of its go-to-market strategy.

•A startup from Gurugram has introduced an all-electric ride-hailing platform. The startup is providing on-demand, intelligent and affordable smart mobility solutions in collaboration with a multinational company for setting up a large-scale network of commercial EV charging stations. It has raised $42 million in funding at present.

•An electric bike manufacturer is working on increasing the customer preference for electric bikes for recreational and adventure activities by selling its e-bicycles which are priced between Rs. 59,999 and Rs 69,999.

Conclusion
Electric vehicles are considered to be the niche vehicles in the grand scheme of the automotive industry, pumping out millions of cars per year. The startups are gaining recognition in a hurry and claiming their stake in the era of electrification. A major number of startups are taking innovative steps in designing and engineering cars that are expensive with integrated technologies of app-based platforms for booking two-wheelers for rental. User-friendly stages include setting up an account with a driving license, basic details, and a more complete form of KYC. Users can vehicles in their vicinity and can reserve and pay for the ride using the mobile application. The features are more included with buffer time for ignition, variant payment options, and long-term rental for both Android and iOS devices.

With the startups creating havoc in the EV market, the demand for lithium battery powered scooters is invincible as the startups focus on creating sustainable mobility for urban India. The startup claims to have entered India’s largest Battery As A Service and from the day of its inception, the mobility startup has swapped three-million batteries. As per media reports, the startup plans to raise $100 million for further expansion of its business model and extend the last mile mobility vertical. The startup also plans to expand the fleet to one lakh units by the end of 2022 with a growth of 10,000 units from the current production.