EV Startup BGauss Bags $7 Mn A Series Funding To Chart Retail Expansion

Mumbai-based EV startup BGauss, promoted by RR Global, has raised $7 Mn led by Darshan Patel, founder, Vini Cosmetics. 

The funds will be utilised for its growth plans including retail and manufacturing capacity expansion in India, launch of two new products, research and development and in-house product development across various electrical vehicle (EV) components, according to a press statement. 

This is the first ever fundraise by BGauss since its foray into India’s two-wheeler EV segment in October 2020. 

Founded by Hemant Kabra, BGauss has a range of dynamic, stylish, premium-yet affordable electric scooters. All its components such as motor, battery, vehicle control units, among others have been developed in-house by BGauss considering long-term business interests, safety and consumer requirements. 

“Currently, the company has 100 dealer networks across India and it is looking for further expansion in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities by the end of 2022,” Hemant Kabra, founder and managing director, BGauss Auto, told Inc42.

The company is also looking to scale up operations and focus on the export market. 

The EV maker’s upcoming electric scooters will come with hi-tech features and new designs, and will be 100% ‘Made in India’ at its production facility located in Chakan near Pune, its spokesperson told Inc42. 

Currently, the company retails B8 and A2 electric scooters that made their debut in 2020 in the country. 

“This round of funding comes at the right time for us as we are all set to launch two new products. Our new product – D15 will be launched early in May 2022 and another later during this year. We are committed to our mission of providing high-performance, safe and intelligent electric scooters,” said Hemant Kabra. 

BGauss scooters are a combination of trailblazing design and intuitive/artificial intelligence-enabled technology that offer comfort, low maintenance, great power, quick charging, Internet of Things, among other features, as claimed by the EV maker.

“We are delighted to support BGauss in its mission of providing clean mobility solutions. EVs are the future and like any new technology-based products, there will be a learning curve for all players. Its upcoming products look promising and will help them grow faster,” said Darshan Patel.

Meanwhile, several mishaps, including fire incidents, involving EVs have come to light in the last two months, with some people losing their lives and several getting injured.

In the wake of such mishaps with two-wheeler EVs, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on April 21 advised companies to take “advance action to recall all defective batches of vehicles immediately”. 

Gadkari reiterated that the government has constituted an expert committee to enquire into these incidents and make recommendations on remedial steps.

On April 20, reports suggested that the government might soon come out with standards for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, following the fire incidents in electric scooters across brands.

Earlier, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant had also asked EV original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to voluntarily recall batches involved in EV fire incidents.

Electric Vehicles Sales In India 

As the central government is encouraging electric mobility, the EV sales in the country more than tripled year-on-year in FY22.

According to Federation of Automobile Dealers  Associations (FADA) data, 4,29,217 units of EVs were sold in FY22, compared to 1,34,821 in the previous financial year, as reported by Inc42. Of this, electric two-wheeler retail sales stood at 2,31,338 units, as opposed to 41,046 units in FY21.

Hero Electric registered sales of 65,303 EV units in FY22, accounting for 28.23% of market share in the two-wheeler segment, followed by Okinawa Autotech. Okinawa sold 46,447 units in the financial year, accounting for a 20.08% market share.