It is truly awe-inspiring seeing that India is becoming a notable country witnessing the green turning point in global stage. Due to the release of harmful pollutants such as Carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other Air toxics from petrol and diesel-based vehicles emitting dangerous effects on human health as well as ecology, India faces a critical need to adopt Electric vehicles and sustainable practices. To save from climatic disasters, it is important to stop consuming non-renewable resources. Thus, protecting our mother earth and ensuring sustainability is becoming a top priority. In that case, EVs operate solely and replaces the risky diesel & fuel based vehicles which combusts diesel fuel.

On the motto of reducing the burgeoning air pollution and urbanization, India has set a bullish goal to achieve net zero by the year 2070. In achieving the target, the role of EV startups has taken a centre stage in recent years. They are acting as guiding light for innovation and navigating the businesses into transformative journey. They are coming up with trailblazing solutions and ground-breaking trends to shape the future greener, cleaner, and smarter. Today’s trendy and innovative startups have started to evolve steadily to turn on the progressive wheels and blow out all the advancements to the sector. From harnessing the cutting-edge technologies to utilizing the eco-friendly materials, these startups are shifting the way we move on roads.

According to the Global Startup Data Platform, Tracxn, The year 2023 witnessed the highest funding level since 2020, with securing $17.8 million across 14 rounds in 2020, escalating to 169.4 million across 16 rounds

EVs are not just vehicles piloting people on the roads but also piloting the generation towards the sustainable & feasible future!

Boarding on to the sunrise landscape of EV industry of India, I have listed ‘Top 5 EV Startups’ whose unwavering commitment on accelerating the transition towards the sustainable future is gaining a global attention.

ElectricPe – ‘Electric Mobility for a billion Indians’
Key Management: Avinash Sharma & Raghav Rohila, Co-Founders
Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka

Understanding the fact of adopting Electric vehicle can show the way to achieve green economy and build sustainable future. ElectricPe is working on a pursuit to supply smart, affordable and clean electric mobility for billions of people in India. By collaborating thousands of independent charge point operators, the team of ElectricPe is making a great effort to create largest electric charging platform in India. The ingenious company provides two key products which are ElectricPe App and ElectricPe CMS. ElectricPe App allows the user to locate the nearest ElectricPe power station and check the real-time availability. CMS – (Charger management Software) is software for charge point operators to manage Electric Vehicle charge stations across multiple locations from a single use application.

Investment Deal: In Jan 2023, a Pre-Series A funding round led by Green Frontier Capital, Blume Ventures, and Micelio Fund, ElectricPe raised $5 Million funding.

ChargeUp: ‘Powering e-mobility’
Key Management – Varun Goenka, Chief Driving Officer
Location: New Delhi

Bringing best-in-class charging solutions in single package, ChargeUp powers up the field of electric vehicle charging. They provide end-to-end solutions for charging, payment solutions and dynamic load management. With their modern & intuitive charging solutions, they help the user to control the charging network efficiently & providing custom branded applications to stay connected with EV drivers through easy-to-use apps. Their products are ChargeUp ESP, ChargeUp CPO and integrated charging stations. Without attaching any complicated contracts, ChargeUp provides two key components CPO and ESP and delivering both the solutions in one package. ChargeUp CPO, a backend solution to manage the charge points at the electric power stations directly and allows the users to manage tariffs, customers and cards. ChargeUp ESP is tech-driven smart app for charging station operation that operates EV drivers & charging stations in one platform.

Investment Deal: To expand their marks in more than 20 cities, ChargeUp bagged $7 million funding led by the key investors, Capital A and Anicut Capital and other marquee investors such as TV show producer Ekta Kapoor, angel investor Sunil Kalra, Mastercard’s Sachin Mehra & debt investor Jiraaf.

EMotorad (EM):‘India’s Top rated Electric Cycles’
Key Management: Rajib Gangopadhyay, Founder & MD, Aditya Oza, Sumedh Battewar, Kunal Gupta, Co-Founders
Location: Pune, Maharashtra

Believing in the power of clean, sustainable and efficient transportation, EMotorad is an ingenious e-bike startup brand that functioning & endeavoring to bring futuristic & realistic e-bikes at an affordable range at all stages of riders including daily travelers, casual riders as well as adventure freaks. They design e-bikes for every category of India and offering a vast range of e-bike models that caters to the diverse requirements & preferences to make sure that anyone can find ideal e-bike align to their lifestyle. Top collections from their e-bike collections are T –Rex Air, EMX+, Doodle v2 and Lil E. Together with e-bikes, the company provides high-ended & protective accessories for riders including helmets, airpumps, premium locks, backpacks, 360 degree phone mount and headlights to gear up the risers with VIP protection before they start. Regardless of these amazing offerings, EMotorad presents most generous and best-in-class rider-friendly warranty policies.

Investment Deal: In November 2023, EMotorad bagged $20 million funding for its ultimate Smart Electric Bicycles.

Baaz Bikes: Mobility Ecosystem for Delivery Workers’
Key Management: Anubhav Sharma, Chief Executive Officer and Karan Singla & Abhijeet Saxena, Co-Founders
Location: New Delhi

Delhi-based startup Baaz Bikes is a mobility ecosystem that acts as end-to-end EV mobility platform and helps the delivery workers to make deliveries seamlessly. They provide cost efficient e-bikes which are designed in house of Baaz Bikes accompanied with bunch of local bike rental partners. In such case, across the areas, delivery workers known as ‘Baazigars’ can access Baaz Bikes installed in automated and integrated battery swap power stations. The company intends to make the Baazigars avail the complete ground support from the real-time rental partners. Also to uplift the delivery workers to launch their riding journey in most cost efficient & effective manner. In the near future, Baaz Bikes striving to set-up the complete mobility ecosystem comprising bikes, mobility software’s and battery swap stations.

Investment Deal: To strengthen the EV ecosystem for Gig workers and improve product offerings spotlighting on safety & systemization, Baaz Bikes raised $8 million funding from Kalaari Capital and 9Unicorns and Rakunten Capital.

Battery Smart: ‘Transforming the Future of Mobility’
Key Management: Pulkit Khurana & Siddharth Sikka, Co-Founders
Location: Gurugram, Haryana

Simplifying the EV adoption and making it economically easy and accessible, Battery Smart acts as a Largest Battery swapping station system for two & three wheeler electric vehicles in India. Battery Smart’s interoperable battery swapping model, dense network and incredible 2 min battery swaps are capable to eliminate the vast road block by enabling the faster adoption of Electric vehicles. Driven by exclusive partner-up approach and teamed up with local traders, Battery Smart drives the existing infrastructure to set-up rapid station network all over the country, particularly in Tier-I & II cities. The Key facets of the company are advanced Li-Ion batteries, complete infrastructure support with charges, batteries and electric set-up, supplying cutting-edge & rapid tech support, generation support, 24/7 real-time support and enhanced partner relationships.

Investment Deal: Last year Battery Smart raised $33 million funding from Tiger Global, Blume Ventures and other investors including EIF (The Ecosystem Integrity Fund) and BII (British International Investment.

“The EV sector presents a massive opportunity in a large, rapidly growing market in our country. Thus, it is bound to continue attracting substantial investments in 2024 and beyond”. - Pulkit Khurana

With all these Startups in mind, the symphony of EV Startups and their advanced solutions resonates with a pledge to generate a more cleaner, connected and environmentally responsible era of mobility mechanism. The Road ahead is not merely just electric; it’s a cognitive ride towards a harmonious co-existence of technology and sustainability into the bubble of mobility.