After creating the Reva Electric Automobile Company in 1996, Maini is most known for releasing India’s first electric car, the Reva
SUN Mobility, a leading supplier of energy infrastructure and services for electric vehicles (EVs), has closed a $50 million fundraising round led by Vitol, one of the world’s largest independent energy dealers and a major investor in zero-emission and renewable energy assets. Vitol’s strategic investment will allow SUN Mobility to further accelerate and expand its services across India and chosen worldwide markets.
“We’re thrilled to be working with Vitol, a major investor in zero-emissions technology throughout the world who has a deep grasp of the electric car market,” said Chetan Maini, co-founder and chairman of SUN Mobility. “We will use the money to expand capacity to satisfy strong customer demand as part of SUN Mobility’s long-term goal to create cheap EV technologies in India.”
After creating the Reva Electric Automobile Company in 1996, Maini is most known for releasing India’s first electric car, the Reva.
SUN Mobility will be able to focus on being a world-class energy solutions provider for electric vehicles, according to Maini, thanks to its current technological collaboration with Bosch and new strategic ties with Vitol. “We are certain that Vitol will offer a tremendous value to our EV business,” added Maini, citing the company’s outstanding track record and experience in zero-emission and renewable energy sectors.
Vitol has been serving the global energy industry for more than 55 years and has invested more than $1 billion in renewable energy projects. SUN Mobility plans to expand its footprint to all major cities with this new funding and strategic support, including increasing the number of Swap Points, partnering with various OEMs, collaborating with various fleet operators and distributors to introduce newer business models, and adding more vehicles to its ever-expanding Mobility as a Service (MaaS) offering. By the end of 2022, the business hopes to have 500 SWAP Points in India, as well as new products to improve the swap experience and reinforce and grow its leadership in battery swapping across the country.
With approximately 160 million two- and three-wheeler vehicles in India, R Andrew de Pass, head of Renewables at Vitol Inc, believes SUN Mobility’s approach has a lot of promise. It is possible to minimize urban pollution by electrifying the majority of India’s vehicle fleet through a flexible and cost-effective service. “With the support of Vitol’s global downstream presence, we look forward to collaborating with SUN Mobility as they extend their footprint and deploy their attractive product into additional similar markets,” Pass added.
SUN Mobility’s Battery Swapping technology, according to Uday Khemka, co-founder and vice-chairman of SUN Group, is working toward a cheap and accessible EV ecosystem, and Vitol is the ideal partner. “Joining forces with a business that has a multi-continental footprint, worldwide investments in energy assets, and a dedication to cleaner energy was critical to unlocking SUN Mobility’s next phase of growth,” said Khemka. “Vitol will support our goal of enrolling 1 million electric vehicles on SUN Mobility’s platform by 2025, as well as helping to spread Made-in-India EV technology to other growing markets.”
SUN Mobility, which was founded in 2017, has developed the world’s first worldwide interoperable smart mobility solutions for electric vehicles that decouple the battery from the vehicle, lowering the upfront cost of electric vehicles for the first time and making them financially feasible. The solution consists of modular Smart Batteries that are smaller, lighter, and swappable, as well as durable, modular, and high-throughput Quick Interchange Stations. Smart Network, an unique cloud-connected Internet of Things (IoT) platform that enables simple access to customers, connects the solution. Customers can get completely charged batteries switched in a matter of minutes, addressing the issue of long charging times and range anxiety.