Electric Vehicles are in simple terms the sustainable and more eco-friendly alternative to our existing automobiles that use internal-combustion engines which burn a mixture of gasses and fuels to produce electricity for the vehicles to run. This process is known to be a strong reason for causing air pollution. Electric vehicles on the other hand are run by an electric motor and mostly run on battery (Lithium-ion), a sustainable choice for our present and the future.
The trend of switching to electric vehicles (EV’s) has been accelerating globally and India is not far behind. Realizing the need of such a big sector change and disruption in India, the government has implemented The National Electricity Mobility Mission Plan and Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid Electric Vehicles to give the needed push for EV sales.
India aims to be one of the few countries to become a 100% EV nation by 2030, as per an article by YourStory. To reach such a large number of production in EV’s, there are a number of start-ups that are fueling India’s dream of becoming a 100% EV nation. These start-ups are offering solutions to the challenges of growing the EV sector within the country, from managing its charging time, charging spots, battery replacements, limited range and more, to promoting a large-scale adoption of EVs in India.
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Ola Electric
A leading brand in the electric two-wheeler market segment, Ola Electric was founded by Bhavish Agarwal and is valued close to $5 billion after its latest round of funding. It is now backed by SoftBank, Matrix Partners India, Falcon Edge Capital, Hyundai Motor Company amongst others.
One key differentiator for Ola Electric is their direct-to-customer model wherein they offer a full digital purchase experience, doorstep delivery of the EV, test rides at the comfort of your home and after-sales services. Their scooters are embedded with IoT sensors, SIM card, a GPS and a certified range of 240 kms per charge.
Ola Electric is one of the hottest brands in the automobile industry with global interest in their business opportunities.
Ather Energy
Ather Energy was founded by Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain in 2013 in Bangalore and is known to have built India’s first smart electric vehicle (scooter). Ather is backed by Flipkart founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, Hero MotoCrop and Tiger Global Management. With a mission to revolutionize the two-wheeler commute experience, Ather has two electric scooters – Ather 450 Plus and Ather 450X that fall under the price range of close to INR 1.6 lakh.
They are known to have built and designed one of India’s fastest EV charging station infrastructure called Ather Grid. Their EV’s offer fast charging, Li-ion batteries, water and dust resistance, various riding modes, LCD screen with Google Maps, stand sensors, mono-shock suspensions, reverse mode, a smartphone app that is integrated with the scooter to provide details about the scooter, home chargers with app connectivity among other things.
With 166 kms as certified distance traveled with each charge, Ather has been working with hands-on innovation and leading the space of EV’s in India.
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Yulu
Founded in 2017 by Hemant Gupta, R.K. Misra, Amit Gupta and Naveen Dachuri, Yulu works with electric two wheelers with an aim to reduce traffic and air pollution. They are backed by Bajaj Auto Ltd, 3one4 Capital, Incubate Capital Partners among others.
They work with a product rental model rather than selling their EV’s. Yulu is a tech-driven mobility platform that works with emerging tech ( AI, ML and IoT) for their demand-supply operations management in an efficient manner. They are lithium- powered scooters that can travel upto 5 miles and focus on first and last mile connectivity. Yulu is correctly present in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Pune, Greater Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar.
They offer weekly rentals for their Yulu Miracle (one of their two products – a dockless electric scooter) at INR 899 and INR 19 per day for 16-45 days.
Blu Smart
Founded in 2019 by Punit K Goyal and Anmol SIngh Jaggi, Blu Smart is a ride-hailing platform that is fully electric. They are backed by Venture Catalysts, Inflection Point Ventures, Mumbai Angels, Mayfield Fund among others. It is also known that leading Indian actress Deepika Padukone has made a substantial investment in the brand.
Blu Smart is an electric four-wheeler ride-hailing app-based service offering. This eco-friendly ride offers you local rides, airport transfers, hourly rental to more. Jio-bp has been known to have partnered with Blu Smart to collectively set up a large scale commercial network of EV charging stations.
The brand has also claimed that they have prevented close to 3,75,000 KG of carbon emissions since 2019.
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Tork
Founded in 2016 by Kapil Sheke, Tork is backed by Ratan TATA, Bhavish Agarwal and Ankit Bhati. It is known for unveiling India’s first electric motorcycle, Tork T6X in 2016. Their bike went on to win a race, the Isle of Man TT, specifically designed for E-motorcycles.
The pune based start-up has a series of variants in its electric two-wheeler offering with a price range of INR 1.25 lakh ( approx).
Key features include a smartphone application with various details of the EV, GPS and TIROS, an AI-enabled operating system, 80% charge in 60 minutes with a 100 KM range and a top speed of 100 KM per hour.
Euler
Founded by Sourav Kumar in 2015, Euler is backed by Blume Investors, Srinivas Anumolu, Jetty Ventures, Inventus Capital among others.
This New Delhi based start-up is inspired by Tesla and works manufacturing light commercial 3 wheeler and 4 wheeler electric vehicles for intra-city transportation. Their two products include Electric auto-rickshaw in 3 wheeler and 4 wheeler and battery packs for their vehicles.
Euler – the commercial cargo electric vehicle has a range of 80-100 kms based on the load on the engine on a single charge and is known to bear a maximum load of 500 kgs.
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Strom
Founded in 2011 by Jean-Luc Abaziou, Dr. Gilmer Blackenship and Prateek Gupta, Storm is based out of Mumbai and is backed by Indian Angel Network. They offer fully air-conditioned electric 3-wheeler cars with a price range of INR 4-4.5 lakhs. Car named Strom -R3 is a personal mobility vehicle with a claimed range of around 200 kms on a single charge with a INR 0.40 paise mileage per km – going by the unit charge.
They are designed as sporty and peppy – enjoyable to drive and are linked with a 4G diagnostic engine that offer its rider and consumer overall picture of the EV including its charge status, critical components health ( like brake pads, engines and electronics) among other functions. The engine is ML based to learn rider’s everyday commute paths, their habits and road terrain.
A few other Indian start-ups working in the EV sector are Emote Electric, Revolt Motors (Revolting against Oil), Ultraviolette Automotive, Orxa Energies, Emflux Motors and others. There is an increasing number of EV based start-ups that are not simply manufacturing new EV’s but also offering services to improve performance, adoption, accessibility and efficiency of these vehicles. Many state governments in India are also making their contribution to the EV start-up by forming their own policies and initiatives.
With each new start-up in the EV sector, there is a new entrepreneur(s) born who gives rise to new work opportunities, growth and learning, innovation and disruption to its employees, stakeholders, competition and customers. These new work opportunities include hiring people full-time, part-time and as freelance and consultant.
If entrepreneurship in technology or digital businesses excites you, or you are aiming to work with such entrepreneurs to learn and grow, BMS Digital Business will be your ideal first step to steer your career in the right direction. Learn more on the course and what it offers here.
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