E-mobility getting the due attention from auto giants

Indian motorcycle maker Bajaj Auto Ltd. invested US$8 million (Rs. 57.1 crores) in venture capital-backed e-mobility service provider, Yulu Bikes Pvt Ltd. Yulu is a startup, founded by InMobi co-founder Amit Gupta. This marks another instance of an established two wheeler maker in India backing startups in the e-mobility space. Hero MotoCorp and TVS Motor have also invested in different electric scooter startups.

Yulu will use the funds to strengthen its mobility platform and deepen its solutions for expansion, Bajaj Auto said in a stock market disclosure. Yulu plans to increase its fleet size to 100,000 electric two-wheelers by the end of this year. Currently, it is present in several Indian cities, including Bengaluru, New Delhi, Pune, Greater Mumbai, and Bhubaneswar.

Gupta said that the investment is mutually beneficial for both the companies. Yulu will source electric two-wheelers from Bajaj Auto that have been co-designed and manufactured exclusively for shared micro-mobility. The motorcycle maker will also consider facilitating the vehicle finance needs of Yulu for a large scale deployment of its micro-mobility electric vehicles.

Rajiv Bajaj, the managing director of Bajaj Auto, said that the efforts towards congestion reduction and pollution control will boost shared micro-mobility segment in India. In the past, Yulu attracted a string of angel and venture investments soon after its launch. Early-stage venture capital firms, Blume Ventures and 3one4 Capital, are among the investors in the company.

India’s mobility segment has been attracting significant investor interest. The government has also been supportive of the electric mobility segment. The Finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, said in her budget speech this year that the government wanted to develop India as a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles.