BluSmart to raise $250 million

15 Jul 2022 , 09:32 AM

BluSmart Electric Mobility, an Indian ride-hailing start-up, is reportedly on the verge of obtaining $250 million from investors, including the venture capital arm of BP.

Anmol Jaggi stated that BluSmart, which operates an all-electric vehicle (EV) fleet, anticipated closing transactions with impact funds and private equity investors within the next two months.

“Bp Ventures will be one of the key investors in this round and already owns an interest in BluSmart. Global investors headquartered in the U.S. and Europe would provide the majority of the remaining cash, “Wednesday, he spoke with Reuters.

Jaggi added that ride-hailing firms like BluSmart are generally valued at 15 to 18 times their annual revenue run rate, though he did not specify the valuation at which money is being sought.

An email asking for feedback from Bp Ventures received no response. In a $25 million round in September, the investment arm of the British oil firm made its first investment in India by contributing $13 million to BluSmart. According to Bp Ventures, it is looking at another business potential in sectors including energy storage, battery swapping, and EV charging infrastructure.

According to BluSmart, which is in direct competition with Uber Technologies and domestic rival Ola and is financed by Japan’s Softbank Group, it has a fleet of 1,800 electric vehicles, the majority of which were purchased from Tata Motors.

According to Jaggi, the business would use the money to improve its infrastructure for charging EVs, purchase more of the vehicles, invest in technology, and roll out the service in other Indian cities. According to BluSmart, it has placed a total of 13,500 orders for electric vehicles with Tata Motors. According to Jaggi, it also has EVs from BYD Co. and MG Motors, both of which are owned by the Chinese carmaker SAIC Motor Corp.

India is pressuring automakers to create EVs and expects at least 30% of new car sales to be electric by 2030. It thinks fleet operators can spearhead this transformation. Due to expensive batteries and a lack of infrastructure for charging, EV sales now only account for a small portion of total sales.