Top Indian Startups Revolutionizing Electric Vehicle Financing for a Greener Tomorrow

The shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) in India is gaining significant traction due to advancements in technology, environmental awareness, and government support. As more people recognize the advantages of EVs, they are becoming an attractive option for potential car buyers.

In the first half of 2023, EV sales consistently exceeded 100,000 units per month, according to government ‘Vahan’ data. With the increasing demand for EVs, the availability of reliable financing options is becoming increasingly vital for the sustainability of this sector.

The rise of the EV ecosystem has led to the emergence of specialized financing firms and startups. These companies are playing a crucial role in promoting the growth of electric mobility in India.

They offer creative solutions to make EV ownership accessible and cost-effective for both individuals and businesses. Here are five innovative Indian startups that are driving the acceleration of electric vehicle (EV) adoption through their cutting-edge financing solutions:

Revfin

Established back in 2018, Revfin is a notable digital lending platform in India, and its main goal is to make sure more people have access to financial services. What they do is offer financial help to people who want to buy electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, the L5 category (which is a specific type of electric vehicle), and even small fleets through the companies that make these vehicles.

Revfin is proud of the fact that they have a very low percentage of loans that don’t get paid back, which they call “non-performing assets” or NPAs for short. Recently, Revfin started helping people get financing for electric four-wheelers too.

They even teamed up with a company called Zappit to provide electric vehicle rides to and from airports. Revfin has also partnered with other electric vehicle makers and companies that lease these vehicles, making it easier for more people to get the financing they need to go electric.

Revfin, based in Delhi, has a big goal: they want to help finance 2 million electric vehicles over the next five years. This means more people can switch to electric vehicles, which is good for the environment and helps reduce pollution.

Vidyut Tech

Vidyut Tech is a digital platform that offers flexible EV financing solutions and assured resales of small commercial EVs. The firm was founded in 2021 by Kothi and Gaurav Srivastava. It caters to commercial vehicle fleet owners by providing them with EV financing and ownership plans that take away the risk of owning a battery.

Commercial vehicle owners can buy vehicles without owning the battery, thereby paying less upfront for an EV, even in comparison with diesel-powered vehicles .Using battery health data and its proprietary underwriting model, VT manages to extract a high residual value for EVs, helping customers get an effective interest rate of 7 per cent.

This is almost on par with the ROI offered by PSU banks for conventional vehicles with an internal combustion engine (ICE). While the firm is not in the passenger vehicle segment, however, in the long term, it plans to offer financing for retail passenger vehicles as well.

ALT Mobility

The Alt Mobility platform provides a comprehensive solution for managing fleets of electric vehicles (EVs), which includes services like leasing, insurance, and taking care of maintenance. They’ve built partnerships with various companies in the EV sector, such as Altigreen , Piaggio, Electric One, and Euler.

While they currently offer leasing services for two and three-wheeled EVs, they plan to expand this service to four-wheelers in the near future, as stated on their website. In March 2022, Alt Mobility started its operations with 80 EVs, and since then, they’ve grown substantially.

They now have more than 4,300 EVs in operation across seven cities, collaborating with eight original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and nine finance partners. Recently, Alt Mobility entered into an agreement to lease 1000 Altigreen neEV Tez electric 3-wheelers, which are powered by Exponent.

In this agreement, Alt Mobility is offering a 5-year financing plan with significantly lower monthly payments (EMI) compared to the industry standard, which typically offers a 3-year plan. Last year, the company introduced a structured finance solution called ” Elektrowagen ” Under this program, Alt Mobility signed Memorandums of Understanding ( MoUs ) with two non-banking financial institutions (NBFCs) that focus on financing electric vehicles, committing a total of USD 25 million to support EV financing.

Ascend Capital

Ascend Capital, a company based in Jaipur, is a top financial services provider that helps people buy electric commercial vehicles ( eCVs ). It was started in 2019 by Lokesh Chandra Mittal and Gaurav Maheshwari. Since then, they’ve put about Rs 80 crore into their own business and have helped finance more than 8,000 commercial EVs.

Ascend Capital makes getting financing for EVs really easy. They guide you through the whole process, making it smooth and hassle-free. They offer good interest rates, flexible ways to pay back the money, and they customize their help to fit your specific needs.

The company has big plans for the future. They want to raise Rs 500 crore (Indian currency) over the next year and a half, with the goal of financing more than 1 million electric commercial vehicles by the year 2030.

OTO

OTO is a startup that sells two-wheelers online and helps people with the process of buying and owning them. They work with various two-wheeler brands and offer services like letting you try the bike at home, buying it online, getting financing, and handling all the paperwork.

One cool thing they do is offer a way to lease two-wheelers. You can easily get an electric bike and pay for it in monthly installments until you decide you want to keep it. If you change your mind, you can trade it in.

This is great for people who want to try an electric bike for a few months and see if it works for them. Plus, their monthly payments are up to 35% lower than usual, which makes owning an electric bike more affordable.

OTO has teamed up with several financial companies and funds like Trillion Loans Fintech, Grow Money Capital, Western Capital Advisors, and Northern Arc Capital, among others, to make financing even easier. They’ve also partnered with Matter, a tech-focused startup, to provide affordable financing options for their motorbike called AERA.

And, last year, they joined forces with BLive, a store that sells multiple electric bike brands, to offer leasing options on the BLive platform.

Read more business articles related to Sales, Marketing,  Advertising, Finance, Entrepreneurship, Management, Education, and Industry at SugerMint.