In the ongoing Series A funding cycle, Euler Motors makes a strong business case with its MaaS offering.
Story by: Deven Lad
Euler Motors is riding high on investor confidence in its business model. Offering Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) stack for India centric commercial Electric Vehicles (EV), the Tesla inspired automotive technology start-up looks to have cracked the investor code. The company has raised Rs.20 crore in the ongoing Series A funding cycle. Led by Venture Capital (VC) company Inventus Capital India it also involves early-stage venture fund Blume Venture Advisors Pvt. Ltd., and Singapore-based sector agnostic early stage investor Jetty Ventures India Investments Pvt. Ltd. Ecommerce platform for businesses – Udaan represented by co-founder Sujeet Kumar has also invested. The investment assumes significance as it comes close on the heels of the pre-series A round funding where the company raised Rs.15 crore also from Blume Venture Advisors besides a show of confidence from Silicon Valley-based VC firm Emergent Ventures and Angel investor Andrew Lee. With the latest round of investment, Euler Motors has got a backing of Rs.35 crore. Averred Saurav Kumar, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Euler Motors, “We are grateful to our investors for showing confidence in us and our vision for Electric Vehicles. Euler Motors wants to accelerate the adoption of commercial electric vehicles by creating a full-stack ecosystem with Indian centric EVs, charging and service station networks.”
Resource utilisation
As per reports, Euler Motors is known to have received Rs. 12.5 crore from Inventus Capital India while Blume Ventures invested a sum of Rs. 4.6 crore. Jetty Ventures and Sujeet Kumar added the remaining Rs. 1.9 crore each. In effect, Blume Ventures and Inventus are known to command a 22.84 per cent and 13.98 per cent stake respectively followed by a 1.12 per cent stake of Jetty Ventures reportedly. With it Saurav Kumar is known to have offloaded a 12.38 per cent equity share, from 63.25 per cent to 50.87 per cent. According to Kumar, Euler motors will utilise the investor funds to expedite both the product development and technology innovation. “The Series A funds will be primarily used for hiring talents, R&D and launching our vehicles across the Indian key cities with a focus on localisation of the supply chain,” he explained.
MaaS infrastructure
MaaS is synonymous to a shift from personally-owned modes of transportation towards mobility provided as a service. By the end of the year, the company aims to launch a three-wheeler electric vehicle especially built for commercial logistics. Averred Rutvik Doshi, Managing Director, Inventus Capital India, “For India to unlock the next wave of growth in electric mobility, it is essential to drive the adoption in the commercial vehicle segment with superior electrical vehicles and infrastructure. Euler Motors is an early front-runner in the space and is well-positioned to build the EV ecosystem.” Euler Motors is said to have built a dedicated manufacturing and Research and Development (R&D) facility for the production of light commercial electric vehicles. The company will also produce localised, automotive-grade lithium-ion battery packs to offer the requisite performance required for intra-city logistics. It is to suit the all-weather patterns, temperatures and diverse terrain requirements across the country. Over the last 18 months, the company has deployed 200 prototype electric vehicles in companies like BigBasket, EcomExpress and Udaan to inturn help overcome last-mile delivery constraints. To support the ecosystem, Euler Motors has established a network of 100+ charging stations in the Delhi NCR region claimed to have a capacity to charge 200+ electric vehicles at a given point and time. Expressed Arpit Agarwal, Principal at Blume Ventures, “Blume Ventures has been associated with Euler Motors since early days. Our initial investment was on the promise of building world-class electric vehicles for Indian conditions. We are happy to see that the vehicle has become a dependable resource for last-mile delivery companies.” “This, and upcoming models, inspire a lot of confidence in the ability of Saurav to execute in a very tough market like India. We believe their innovative business model brings down the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and makes electric vehicles accessible,” he concluded. ACI
