Electric Vehicles This Week: Hero Electric, BattRE Partner With Fintech Startups To Fuel EV Sales & More

In an attempt to boost EV sales during the pandemic times, several OEMs are now partnering with fintech startups to improve the state of financing for electric vehicle purchases. For instance, Hero Electric recently announced its collaboration with fintech startup Autovert Technologies. Through this partnership, Autovert will be providing Hero Electric customers with subscription-based financing plans starting at INR 2,999 per month.

Additionally, Autovert Technologies will also be providing vehicle insurance, service and maintenance benefits, customer loyalty bonuses and attractive upgrade options. The company said that the subscription model fits perfectly with the increasing demand from customers who are looking for alternative ownership options, as it provides flexibility and additional benefits compared to traditional financing options.

Autovert claimed it would be leveraging the internet of things (IoT)-based technology platform ‘Autovert Plug’ to manage the vehicle throughout the customer lifecycle. Currently, the subscription plan has been rolled out with a few select dealers in Bengaluru on a pilot basis, before it officially launches across the country.

Sohinder Gill, CEO of Hero Electric said that the EV sector in India does not offer such ease and joy when it comes to financing. With this partnership, Hero Electric will offer buyers the convenience of owning Hero Electric vehicles without any hassle. “As sales volume rises, this partnership will simplify and facilitate EV sales in India while giving Hero Electric buyers the ease that is priceless,” he added.

Similarly, EV startup BattRE also announced its partnership with AI-driven EMI financing platform ZestMoney, where the company will be offering customers with affordable and transparent credit to purchase BattRE scooters.

Here, customers can book any BattRE electric scooter from the nearest dealers located across 12 states and avail financing options from ZestMoney. Also, customers can complete the KYC formalities online and avail the financing options. In a press statement, the company said that people without credit cards or a CIBIL score can apply and avail loan for purchasing the scooter, where they have the option to select EMI tenure of three, six and 12 months for repayments.

Lizzie Chapman, cofounder and CEO of ZestMoney said that people are now looking for EMI financing options to buy electric vehicles, as the present-day need for contactless and digital means of credit could fuel customers to buy electric vehicles. “Our fully automated and data-driven loan disbursal model is the best-suited solution in these times. Affordable financing options will play a crucial role in reviving demand as well,” she added.

EV Chart Of The Week: 

As consumers choose economical and operational benefits over environmental responsibility when making the decision to buy electric vehicles, highlighting the benefits of long term operational costs can actually boost the adoption rate. According to the DataLabs by Inc42+ report, 31% of customers said that they would consider to buy a fully electric vehicle because of its low operational cost over time.

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Electric Vehicles News: 

Ather Energy Raises INR 84 Cr From Hero MotoCorp For Expansion 

Electric scooter manufacturer Ather Energy recently raised INR 84 Cr from Hero MotoCorp as part of Series C round, which was previously led by Sachin Bansal. With this fresh funds, Ather is now aggressively looking to expand into 20 cities by the end of 2021, where its newly launched Ather 450X will soon be available in cities like Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi and Mumbai, with deliveries beginning in October 2020.

In a bid to sustain the projected demand, the company said that it will be opening up a new manufacturing facility in Hosur, which is estimated to produce 100K units annually, and scalable to half a million units. In addition to this, Ather Energy will also be setting up its fast charging port Ather Grid across the country by 2025.

Zoomcar Partners With Eto Motors To List Electric Three Wheelers 

Self-drive car rental platform, Zoomcar recently announced that it has signed an agreement with electric mobility startup Eto Motors. With this, Zoomcar will now be able to access Eto Motors’ electric three-wheelers for shared, first and last-mile passenger commute requirements. In other words, Zoomcar customers will now be able to book a transport vehicle for goods movement within cities.

Talking about the partnership, Greg Moran, cofounder and CEO of Zoomcar said that it will be leveraging its AI-based platform to enable large fleet operators to better manage their assets through greater vehicle safety and lower operating costs.

EV Headlines From Around The World

Elon Musk Open To Supplying Batteries To Other Automakers 

Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk recently announced that it is open to licensing software and supplying powertrains and batteries. In a Twitter post, Musk said that Tesla is now looking at accelerating sustainable energy, and not crushing competitors. However, it is quite unclear which types of batteries Tesla will be supplying to automakers. Current, Tesla runs a battery JV with Panasonic Corp and also sources batteries from China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and South Korea’s LG Chem. If this happens, EV startups will have an edge over legacy manufacturers.

BMW Group To Unveil Five New Electric Vehicles By 2021 

German auto giant, BMW recently announced that it will be offering five fully-electric vehicles, including BMW i3, MINI Cooper SE, BMW iX3, BMW iNEXT and BMW i4 by 2021. With this, the German auto manufacturer looks to lower vehicle emission during production and on-road. In a ToI report, the BMW Group said that in the next ten years, it envisions to have a total of more than seven million electrified BMW vehicles on the roads, where two-thirds of them would be a fully-electric drive train. Further, the company said that it will have 25 electrified models on roads by 2023, half of them fully electric.