Bengaluru-based Electric commercial vehicle manufacturer Altigreen has raised Rs 300 crore ($40 million) in a fresh funding round led by Sixth Sense Ventures, along with Reliance New Energy (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited), Xponentia Capital, Accurant International, USA and Momentum Venture Capital, Singapore.
The funds will be used to launch new products including Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs), ramp up production capabilities, accelerate R&D, fast-paced EV adoption and develop a robust pan-India network to offer the cleanest last-mile transportation solutions in India, the startup said in a statement.
Altigreen was founded by Amitabh Saran, Lasse Mocklegaard, Shailendra Gupta and John Bangura in 2012. The company has expanded its network across New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai. Earlier, it has raised capital from Jupiter Capital, Sterling Tools, Phi Capital and HiTech Gears among others.
Amitabh Saran, cofounder, Altigreen, told ET, “If you look at the last mile delivery segment, the requirements are best suited to what electric vehicles have to offer. These vehicles – be it two-wheelers, three-wheelers or small four-wheeler commercial vehicles – have a consistent daily driving range, fixed load carrying capacity. Electric vehicles are not only cleaner, the operating economics are far superior when compared with fossil-fuel driven ones. We see massive potential for growth in the electric commercial vehicle segment and will focus on the space.”
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For one, the running cost of an electric three-wheeler stands at Rs 0.90 per km, compared to Rs 3.5/4 per km for a diesel driven one. The running cost of a four-wheeled small commercial vehicle is even higher at Rs 7.5-8 per km. Saran said even after factoring in the higher purchase price (an electric three-wheeler will cost 10-15% more than its diesel counterpart), total cost on ownership is lower by 50-85%, said Saran.
On the product side, the target is to have 3-5 vehicles in its portfolio in the next 2-3 years. “A good part of the investment will be in R&D. We have on-board investors who are also bringing their expertise to the table. For one, Reliance New Energy is investing heavily in non li-ion batteries and we get access to those technologies”, said Saran.
Nikhil Vora, Founder and CEO of Sixth Sense said, “We draw comfort with Altigreen’s primary focus on the 3W segment within the EV space – which fundamentally is less cluttered and under-penetrated, as well as benefits multiple stakeholders in the value chain (from Ecommerce players to consumers). This coupled with a strong product first approach and a credible team, Altigreen is well-positioned to emerge as one of the leading players in the 3W EV space.”
“We believe that Altigreen has a big role to play in accelerating the adoption of EVs which is entering a non-linear growth phase in Indian markets,” said PR Srinivasan, Managing Partner, Xponentia Capital.
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