Some of the most prominent figures in the startup ecosystem participated in this round. Sahil Barua, co-founder of Delhivery. Kunal Shah, co-founder of Cred. Sriharsha Majety, co-founder of Swiggy; Rajat Verma, co-founder of Lohum.
Following the funding, the startup aims to partner with more EV makers and expand into more regions. It will also double headcount in its credit, engineering and sales teams.
Founded in 2021, Vidyut Tech primarily caters to commercial vehicle owners by offering EV financing and ownership plans that remove the risk of owning batteries. The startup has already partnered with EV manufacturers such as Mahindra, Altigreen, Euler Motors and OSM to offer “unique vehicle ownership solutions for commercial vehicle owners.”
Commercial vehicle owners can buy vehicles without owning a battery, lowering the initial cost of EVs compared to diesel vehicles.
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The down payment requirements for EVs will be 2.5 to 3 times higher than for diesel vehicles, the company claims. Ownership of the battery and related liability remains with Vidyut Tech.
The company said it has exclusive access to vehicle and battery test data from EV manufacturers that have been able to build their own underwriting models.
The startup can solve the uncertainty about battery life and high battery replacement costs, which represent 40-50% of the value of the vehicle, that are deterring commercial vehicle owners from purchasing batteries.
After 3-5 years of battery life in an EV, the battery life is shortened and the battery usually goes straight to recycling where various elements such as lithium, nickel and magnesium are individually extracted for reuse.
Vidyut Tech claims it can capture the residual value of these by selling old batteries for various uses such as energy storage, and can provide vehicle owners with new batteries for free. Vidyut Tech has partnered with NBFC to offer its customers a minimum effective interest rate of 7%.
Xitij Kothi, co-founder of Vidyut Tech, said: “While OEMs are pushing the frontiers of EV technology, the market has lagged behind innovation on the funding front. needs a tailored financing solution for EVs, and at Vidyut, with the support of our OEM partners, we are leveraging EV technology to build a technology stack that will fundamentally change the ownership experience.”
Kothi has worked for multiple unicorn companies including Swiggy, Rivigo and Flipkart. Another co-founder, Gaurav Srivastava, has worked with EV and shared mobility startup Bounce and Boston Consulting Group, which works in the automotive sector.
Kumar of Udaan said: “However, in order to scale at scale in India, it is critical to unlock value from small fleet owners and consumers that will ultimately drive adoption.”
