SUMMARY
Existing investors Mumbai Angels, Inflection Point Ventures and others participated in this round
The company had raised $2.2 Mn from JITO Angels, MayFiels, Micromax and others last year
It looks to add 1K electric vehicles and charging stations to its fleet by 2021
Delhi-based electric mobility startup BluSmart has raised $7 Mn (INR 51 Cr) in funding from multiple investors including Inflections Point Ventures, Venture Catalysts, Survam Partners, Mumbai Angels, Chhattisgarh Investments Ltd, Jain International Trade Organization (JITO) Angels, Lets Venture Fund and Kaplavriksh Fund. Besides this, it is also underway to raise venture debt for the same purpose.
The company will use this funding to expand the number of cars on its platform, set up more charging infrastructure, technology improvement and expand its geographical reach. Prior to this, the company had raised $2.2 Mn in seed funding led by JITO Angels. MayField Fund and Centrum, Micromax and a few individual investors also participated in this round.
Commenting on the latest funding, BluSmart’s cofounder Anmol Singh Jaggi said, “We aim at bringing in a new narrative in the electric vehicle (EV) mobility space by giving the highest quality service as evidenced by our app rating, which is highest amongst all ride-sharing platforms and thus, transforming India’s mega-cities by providing convenient, sustainable and affordable mobility with great benefits for consumers, businesses and society at large.”
Founded in 2019 by Jaggi and Punit K Goyal, Blu Smart started its services as an electric ride-hailing business. Then in June, the company expanded its services to include EV car subscriptions.
The Delhi-based company’s new plans include subscription-based car rentals, ride-sharing on both electric cars and bikes, and shared EV charging infrastructure across Delhi NCR region. Recently, the company has also launched the ‘Blusmart Hourly Rental’ product, which enables customers to travel anywhere in Delhi and Gurugram with multiple stops.
Last year, the company had partnered with Mahindra Electric to onboard 70 Mahindra eVerito premium sedans in its cab fleet. It planned to add up to 500 Mahindra eVeritos by April 2020 and also expand to other densely populated cities such as Mumbai and Pune. Now, its further plans to add 1K electric cars and hundreds of charging stations on its platform by 2021.
Since its inception, the company has completed 50 Lakh Km with 2 Lakh rides, saving more than 3.75 Lakh Kgs of carbon dioxide. Goyal, in the press statement, noted, “Electric mobility is the next big thing in India.”
According to Inc42 Plus estimates, commercial vehicles are going to bring the revolution in electric vehicles. In FY19, commercial vehicles recorded the fastest pace of growth in domestic sales at 17.55%.
With electric vehicles projected to have market share of 70% in the commercial vehicle by 2030 for such high-mileage commercial vehicles, savings on operating cost will compensate for the initial high purchase price much faster compared to low-mileage vehicles.
