Indian electric mobility startup Yulu has raised $82 million (Rs 653 crore) in a Series B funding round, led by mobility technology company, Magna International, per an announcement.
DealStreetAsia had reported in August that the startup is in talks with Magna to raise funds and aggressively expand operations in the market.
With this round of funding, Yulu will further strengthen its leadership through product and technology innovations, it said. It also added that it has plans to increase its electric vehicle (EV) fleet to more than 1 lakh electric two-wheelers along with over 500 battery charging and swapping stations over the next 12 months.
This business expansion will lead to Yulu becoming free cash flow and will lay the foundation for exponential growth.
Founded in 2017, Yulu Bikes is an Indian electric bicycle and scooter rental startup that is backed by Bajaj Auto, Blume Ventures, 3One4 Capital, WaveMaker, and Rocketship. It has operations in Bangalore, Pune, Greater Mumbai, and Bhubaneswar.
Bajaj invested $8 million in Yulu Bikes in 2019. The investment helped Yulu to source electric two-wheelers, co-designed and manufactured exclusively for shared micro-mobility, from Bajaj.
“We can clearly see a 100X growth opportunity for Yulu in the next 3-4 years… Our focus now will be to establish a robust and agile supply chain and scale up our operations. We will go deeper and denser in our existing markets and explore new areas,” Amit Gupta, co-founder & CEO at Yulu (Bikes Pvt Ltd) said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Matteo Del Sorbo, executive vice president at Magna International and global lead of Magna New Mobility, added: “This is an incredibly exciting time for Magna to contribute to a sustainable future in urban mobility through this investment in Yulu. Micro mobility presents a great opportunity for additional growth for Magna, and joining forces with Yulu helps us expand our business into this rapidly growing sector.”
According to ResearchAndMarkets, the global electric vehicle battery swapping market is expected to be worth $229.1 million in 2022 and reach $690.81 million by 2027.
Other Indian companies in the shared mobility space include Shunwei Capital-backed Rapido, Ola-backed Vogo, B Capital-backed Bounce, and Drivezy among others.