Magna International, a Canadian mobility technology company that builds sensor-based systems for cars such as driver monitoring systems and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), is entering the market. micro mobile device. The company has invested $77 million in Yulu, an Indian shared electric motorcycle operator, and plans to jointly launch a the battery swap service company.
Magna’s investment is part of Yulu’s $83 million Series B, in which Bajaj Auto is also involved. Along with the funding, Magna will hold a seat on Yulu’s board of directors. Yulu’s latest round will help the company expand to 15 more cities over the next 18 months and potentially beyond India in the future, according to Magna.
“Partnering with Yulu helps us expand our business into this rapidly growing sector,” said Matteo Del Sorbo, Executive Vice President of Magna and global head of Magna.
This early year, Magna acquires technology, IP and assets of Optimus Ridea self-propelled shuttle company, to further enhance its ADAS services.
The new battery swap entity is now registered as “Yulu Energy”, employs 200 employees and is headquartered in Bangalore, according to Magna. The mobile tech giant said it will be Yulu’s exclusive battery swap partner and will build the infrastructure needed for “millions of swaps per week.”
Magna said it intends to leverage Yulu’s strong market position and network in India to develop Yulu Energy, which it describes as a Battery as a Service (BaaS) company. The company said Yulu Energy will be similar to Gogoro of Taiwanoperates a growing battery swap network that services private consumers with their own electric two-wheelers.
Yulu Energy aims to eventually serve both the consumer and fleet markets, but will start with delivery fleets using Yulu’s MaaS operation, which includes around 10,000 electric two-wheelers across Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, according to a spokesman.
“We can clearly see significant growth opportunities for Yulu in both BaaS and [Mobility-as-a-Service] “Yulu co-founder and CEO Amit Gupta said within the next three to four years.” As a market leader in electric mobility, with a proven business model built on positive unit economics, our focus will now be on establishing an agile supply chain agile and scale our operations. “
