Commercial EV Financing Startup Turno Raises $13.8 Mn From B Capital, Others

Commercial EV-focused fintech startup Turno has raised $13.8 Mn (around INR 112 Cr) in a Series A funding round co-led by global venture capital firms B Capital and Quona Capital. 

Existing investors Stellaris Venture Partners and Avaana Capital participated in the round along with new investors Alteria Capital and InnoVen Capital.

Turno plans to use the fresh capital to expand its electric vehicle distribution platform across India and offer used battery solutions to address the pressing concerns of EV users.

The development comes a few months after the fintech startup raised $3.1 Mn in a seed funding round led by Stellaris Venture Partners along with Avaana Capital.

Set up in April 2022 by former Zoomcar’s C-level executives Hemanth Aluru and Sudhindra Reddy, the Bengaluru-based EV startup offers financing solutions to SMEs and individuals that plan to buy used commercial three-wheeler electric vehicles. 

The startup helps SMBs and individuals select an apt commercial EV and later, enables them to buy the electric vehicle by providing credit through its Turno credit app. 

“Today 80-85% of India’s automotive fuel consumption is driven by commercial vehicles with internal combustion engines. Yet, there is a strong desire to transition to a green economy and so, commercial EV adoption holds significant promise,” said, Hemanth Aluru, cofounder and CEO of Turno.

Explaining its guaranteed buyback services, the startup said that its vehicle lifecycle management app offers a real-time dashboard to help consumers know their guaranteed buyback price for EV vehicles. The app gamifies and incentivises EV users’ driving behavior to prolong battery life.

The startup claims to have low-cost financing and a guaranteed buy-back value on used EV batteries. It asserted that it has captured nearly 20% of India’s commercial EV market.

“Our endeavor is to make the EV technology equitably available to everyone through business model innovations that can continually bring down the costs of ownership. We believe this is the only way to make India’s EV mission successful,” said Sudhindra Reddy, cofounder and COO of Turno. 

The startup operates online and physical stores across the country including ​​Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Delhi NCR, and Maharashtra.

Turno’s cap table includes Vipul Parekh from BigBasket, Jayant Paleti from Darwinbox, Lizzie Chapman and Priyamvada Sharma from Zestmoney, Dhyanesh Shah from Mosaic Wellness, Matilde Giglio from Even, and Rohit Bhat from Airavat Capital, among others.

In EV financing, it competes with the likes of Ascend Capital and Revfin, among others.

According to a GrandView Research report, the country’s total EV market was pegged at over $220 Mn in 2020. The industry is projected to grow to $152.21 Bn by 2030 and expand at a CAGR of 94.4% by the forecast period (2021-30).