Electric Two-Wheeler Maker Ampere acquires 74% stake in E-Rickshaw Company Bestway
Bestway sells e-rickshaws under the brand name ELE
July 16, 2020
Ampere Vehicle, an electric mobility subsidiary of Indian heavy equipment manufacturer Greaves Cotton Limited, announced that it has acquired a 74% stake in Bestway Agencies Private Limited.
Bestway is a Noida-based e-rickshaw manufacturer that sells under the brand name ELE. The companies have not disclosed the value of the transaction.
In a media statement, Ampere said that through this acquisition, it aims to expand its presence in the fast-growing e-rickshaw segment in India. Ampere is already operating in the electric two-wheeler segment.
“The acquisition will further strengthen Ampere’s relationship with the Indian consumer by adding last-mile mobility products and services for an uninterrupted journey, enhancing productivity across electric two-wheeler and electric three-wheeler spectrum. Combining Ampere’s and Bestway’s expertise will help in further boosting the growth and strengthen market positioning as a leading e-mobility business in India,” said Nagesh Basavanhalli, Director of Ampere Vehicles and MD & CEO at Greaves Cotton Limited.
The company said that it foresees rapid growth in the EV three-wheeler segment as affordable mobility needs are likely to expand in the country, and post-COVID thrust towards employment generation increases at the bottom of the pyramid. Further, Ampere added that this acquisition would help it expand its portfolio and offer its services to both B2B and B2C customers.
India’s EV revolution has just begun. The sale of electric vehicles in the country went up by 20% in 2019-20, with 156,000 electric vehicles sold in FY 2019-20. Out of the total, 152,000 were two-wheelers, 3,400 cars, and 600 buses, according to the Society of Manufacturers of Electric vehicles (SMEV). The increase of 20% has mostly come from electric two-wheelers. However, it did not include electric rickshaws, which broadly fall under the unorganized sector with a reported sale of nearly 90,000 units. The corresponding figures of the electric rickshaws sold in the previous year have not been documented.
In India, Several companies budding startups in the field of electric mobility have been getting the interest of investors.
Recently, Euler Motors, a New Delhi-based electric vehicle manufacturer, raised ₹200 million (~$2.66 million) as part of its ongoing Series A funding led by Inventus Capital India, a Bengaluru-based venture capital firm.
Last year, Mercom reported that PURE EV, an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad-incubated startup, raised an undisclosed amount of funding. The funding was expected to enhance the company’s operations and production capacity. PURE EV had said that it was in the process of launching a high-speed motorcycle with battery swapping in 2020.
Previously, Bengaluru-based startup Numocity Technologies also raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Ideaspring Capital, Rebright Partners, and ABB Technology Ventures. The early-stage startup is focused on providing end-to-end solutions for the electric mobility infrastructure in the country.
Image credit: Vikram.goenka / CC BY-SA
Get the most relevant India solar and clean energy news.
RECENT POSTS
LATEST HEADLINES
Intra-State Sections of Evacuation Infrastructure for Renewables Delayed
Mar 24, 2023
EnBW Takes €2.4 Billion Final Investment Decision on Offshore Wind Project
Mar 24, 2023
India Missed 2022 Renewables Target as Rooftop Solar and Wind fell Short
Mar 24, 2023
Researchers Aim to Accelerate Delivery of Space-Based Solar Power to Earth
Mar 24, 2023
Regulator Directs Wind Energy Firm, MSEDCL, to Recompute Delayed Payment Charge
Mar 24, 2023
India added an impressive 2.5 GW open access solar capacity in 2022, registering a growth of 92% year-over-year (YoY), according to the 2022 Q4 & Annual Mercom India Solar Open Access Market Report. Karnataka emerged as the to...
March 23, 2023
Markets & Policy
Government Clarifies ALMM Enlistment Guidelines for Co-branded Solar ModulesThe Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has modified the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) guidelines and provided exceptions to broaden the qualification criteria for modules produced under agreements betwe...
March 24, 2023
C&I
In Bengaluru, a 100 kW Solar System Can Save C&I Entities ₹1 Million AnnuallyMercom India successfully concluded the C&I Clean Energy Meet 2023 in Bengaluru, where stakeholders in the solar sector and commercial and industrial entities converged to enthusiastically discuss the benefits of renewable ene...
March 24, 2023
Other
Gensol Acquires Solar Tracker Maker Scorpius for ₹1.35 BillionGensol Engineering, a part of solar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company Gensol Group, has acquired India-based solar tracker manufacturer Scorpius Trackers for ₹1.35 billion ($16.4 million). Gensol said the ac...
March 23, 2023
Trending News
Technology
Researchers Find Solution to Manage Load in Solar PV & Storage Systems
February 28, 2023
February 27, 2023
February 24, 2023
January 17, 2023
Magazine
Latest News
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy that the intra-state stretches of the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) have been delayed due to various reasons, including...
March 24, 2023
German electric utility company Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg (EnBW) has made its final €2.4 billion (~$2.6 billion) investment decision on He Dreiht, a major wind project in the German North Sea. The project has a capacity of 960...
March 24, 2023
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy report has isolated underwhelming progress on rooftop solar and wind energy projects as the primary reason for India falling short of achieving its renewable energy capacity target...
March 24, 2023
Researchers at Northumbria University are studying ways of producing wireless electricity from space to Earth by harvesting the Sun’s energy. U.S.-based aerospace, defense, and information security organization Lockheed Martin...
March 24, 2023
The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) recently directed Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) to recompute the delayed payment charge from...
March 24, 2023
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has devised a new way to produce perovskite solar cells that could speed its commercialization. Different layers are typically added sequentially to a conductive glass substrate to...
March 24, 2023
Saudi Arabia-based energy company ACWA Power has signed power purchase and investment agreements with National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan, and the Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade to develop new solar and battery...
March 24, 2023
The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved the registration of CSI Solar, the engineering, procurement, and construction arm of solar module maker Canadian Solar, to issue an initial public offering (IPO). The...
March 24, 2023
Renewable capacity grew by 9.6% in 2022, adding a record 295 GW worldwide. This accounts for 83% of all power capacity added last year and brings the global renewable generation capacity to 3,372 GW by the end of last year, a...
March 24, 2023
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has modified the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) guidelines and provided exceptions to broaden the qualification criteria for modules produced under agreements...
March 24, 2023
Get the most relevant India solar and clean energy news.
POPULAR POSTS
Intra-State Sections of Evacuation Infrastructure for Renewables Delayed
Mar 24, 2023
EnBW Takes €2.4 Billion Final Investment Decision on Offshore Wind Project
Mar 24, 2023
India Missed 2022 Renewables Target as Rooftop Solar and Wind fell Short
Mar 24, 2023
Researchers Aim to Accelerate Delivery of Space-Based Solar Power to Earth
Mar 24, 2023
Regulator Directs Wind Energy Firm, MSEDCL, to Recompute Delayed Payment Charge
Mar 24, 2023
One-Step Coating Could Make Perovskite Solar Cells Commercially Viable
Mar 24, 2023
ACWA Power to Develop Solar and Energy Storage Projects in Uzbekistan
Mar 24, 2023