PMV Electric, which entered the electric quadricycle market with EaS-E is in talks with a clutch of private equity companies and angel investors to raise 300 crores over the next two years. The funds will be used to fund its current and future expansion plans.
Kalpit Patel, Founder of PMV Electric told Autocar Professional that the first round of Rs 80 crore fundraise is in ‘advanced stages of negotiation.’ “Going forward, our operation will expand into the Pune Chakan belt as that’s where the vendor ecosystem is located,” Patel said.
PMV started operations in 2018 as the manufacturer of parts and accessories for motor vehicles and their engines. A full-fledged plant near Chakan in Pune Maharashtra will be operational from the first half of 2023, Patel hopes to utilise most of its capacity by end of 2024. By then it aims to deliver 70 percent of its current orderbook of 6,000 units.
The PMV Chakan plant will be also scaled up to manufacture other automobiles beyond quadricycles, as the latter is not entitled to Fame 2 incentives at present.
As part of its localisation strategy, the company is talking to Aptiv and other Tier 2 component players who are also working with Tata Motors and other leading OEMs for their ongoing electrification programme, that will help them build size and scale for its upcoming range of passenger vehicles which will be based on the completely new platform.
“Like any OEM we too have sizable plans to grow our portfolio which will be in the personal mobility segment. We are looking to swell our niche portfolio to include other variants of EaS-E as the next progression,” Patel said.
PMV is banking on a contract manufacturing tie-up at present with a monthly capacity of 500-900 units. As the volumes increase, it will move to its own dedicated manufacturing set up.
At present, the focus is on the direct business-to-consumer model. Company officials indicated they are also open to giving out dealerships on a case-by-case basis.
PMV Electric is a family-run enterprise with directors Kalpit Dashrath Patel and Dashrath Keshavlal Patel hailing from the promoter family. The company has developed the concept to production spec prototypes with its own funds.