Electric Vehicles This Week: Lithium Urban Acquires Smartcommute; Okinawa To Invest INR 150 Cr For New Manufacturing Facility

Bengaluru-based electric vehicle (EV) fleet provider Lithium Urban Technologies has acquired end-to-end employee transport software provider SmartCommute in a bid to increase its mobility offering.

SmartCommute was founded in 2014 by Ajit Patil and Gajanan Sakhare. It provides a software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based platform to help corporations with their employee transportation needs. The company offers automated rostering, back-to-back cab routing, trip allocations, real-time tracking features, risk management, personal safety management, automated billing and data analytics.

Pre-pandemic, the company was commuting about 30K employees through 3K vehicles on a daily basis across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, New Delhi, and Hyderabad. The company’s client portfolio included Capgemini, L&T Infotech, KPIT, TCS and more.

With the integration of SmartCommute into its platform, Lithium will be equipped to expand further into the transportation segment with freight and rapid bus transit offerings, among others. Further, Lithium will also cater to both electric and non-electric vehicles, making it a one-stop solution for smart transportation services across different form factors.

“SmartCommute comes with a demonstrated expertise in high-end tech-enabled solutions for smart rostering and AI-enabled routing that can considerably optimise operations and costs for clients. With this acquisition, we aim to expand our presence in the larger transportation and mobility ecosystem and provide full-stack services, going beyond sustainable corporate mobility solutions. Moreover, we are aiming to help clients seamlessly transition from ICE to electric vehicles given the tight integration that this platform will provide, with EVs’ charging station telematics, and scheduling algorithms,” Sanjay Krishnan, founder of Lithium, said.

Founded in 2015, Lithium Urban is a zero-emission transport service that provides connected EV fleets and associated charging infrastructure to institutions, companies and other private entities. EVs from Tata Motors Ltd and Mahindra and Mahindra comprise the bulk of its B2B electric fleet. The company had also started acquiring electric buses and sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) to expand its fleet and enter new segments.

Electric Vehicles News Of The Week

Electric Two- and Three-Wheelers To Lead India’s EV Journey

Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA) has reported that the two-wheelers will account for 8-10% of the total EV sales whereas over 30% of the three-wheelers will be battery-powered by 2025. “While global automotive demand declined during CY2020 due to Covid-19 related impact, EVs remained the bright spot with approximately 40% growth over the previous years. Globally, EVs now account for 4.4% of new car sales during CY2020 and their share is likely to cross 5% in CY2021,” ICRA said.

Okinawa Scooters Plans To Produce 10 Lakh E-Scooters Annually

Okinawa is planning to invest INR 150 Cr to set up a new manufacturing facility in Rajasthan that will initially have the capacity to build five to six Lakh electric two-wheelers units in the first phase and up to 10 Lakh units in the future. The company is also looking to introduce a-motorbike into the Indian market soon.

Electric Vehicle News From Around The World

Ford Pledges To Boost EV Sales, Plans To Invest $30 Bn

Automaker giant Ford is doubling down its investment in electric vehicles, as it has pledged that 40% of its vehicles sold by 2030 will be electric. The company will invest $30 Bn in the electrification efforts by 2025. The company had previously announced plans to spend $22 Bn on electrification efforts and had recently revealed plans to build two new battery factories in a joint venture with Korean battery maker SK innovation.

Hyundai Aims To Sell 1 Mn EV Per Year By 2025

Hyundai Motor Group will slash the number of combustion engine models in its line-up to free up resources to invest in EVs. According to sources aware of the development, the move will result in a 50% reduction in models powered by fossil fuels. Hyundai Motor Group aims to sell out one million EVs per year by 2025 to achieve a 10% share of the global EV market.

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