E-mobility startup Magenta Mobility has bagged an equity investment of $22 million from bp and an investment fund managed by Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure.
Magenta Mobility plans to use this funding to expand its fleet to 4,000 three- and four-wheel EVs (electric vehicles) across the country over the next year. The capital will also support Magenta Mobility’s market expansion into eight more cities across India in the next two years, apart from strengthening its presence in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, said the company in a statement.
Jio-bp, part of the joint venture between UK-based bp and Reliance, will be the exclusive EV charging partner for Magenta Mobility’s fleet.
“We understand the pain points, limitations for EV adoption in commercial fleet operations, and have developed technology/software solutions to address these issues. Today, with our solutions, we are delivering for some of India’s largest and most successful companies,” said Maxson Lewis, Founder and Managing Director of Magenta Mobility.
“We’re excited about our relationship with global marquee investors like bp and Morgan Stanley, as we continue to electrify and decarbonise logistics in India.”
Magenta Mobility has more than 750 three-wheel EVs with 35 charging and parking hubs across seven cities, providing electrified last-mile delivery logistics. The company claims to be working on an ecosystem approach to provide solutions to all the participants—customers, driver partners, OEMs and financiers. It works with ecommerce, food and online delivery companies in the country.
“With the Indian Government setting an ambitious 2030 target for the complete transition to EVs for ecommerce, delivery, and transport logistics service providers, Magenta Mobility, through its operations, will help decarbonise Indian cities whilst helping meet demand in the fast-growing ecommerce delivery industry,” said Sashi Mukundan, President, bp India and Senior Vice President, bp.
“This is bp’s first venture-led entry into India’s last-mile delivery market and our second in India’s mobility sector,” he added.
As per the statement, bp is investing heavily in five growth engines that will help drive its transition to an integrated energy company and deliver its net-zero plans, including BP PULSE, an EV infrastructure, which is live in nine countries worldwide.
“Being one of the early entrants in the charging infrastructure space, the company (Magenta) is uniquely positioned to stitch an end-to-end solution to enable businesses to go electric in their middle and last mile operations,” said Shyamsundar Gurumoorthy, Managing Director and Co-Head of Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure.
“In terms of market opportunity, there are strong tailwinds supporting EV adoption by large customers in their supply chain both for economic and sustainability reasons,” he added.
