Mumbai-based electric vehicle startup Strom Motors, run by E14 Technologies Pvt. Ltd, has raised an undisclosed amount of angel funding from Indian Angel Network (IAN), a statement by IAN said.
The round was led by IAN members Neeraj Garg, Sanjay Bhasin and Anirudh Agarwal, the statement added.
The startup will use the capital to sell its product, expand operations across the country and increase its consumer base across markets. It will also use the money to set up its assembly plant in Mumbai for its Strom R3 electric vehicle, the statement added.
The company is awaiting certification approval from the Automotive Research Association of India, following which it will start delivering the Strom R3 vehicles. The company unveiled the Strom R3, a two-seater three-wheeled compact electric car in April this year.
“In India, electric vehicle adoption will grow significantly in the next five years. Adoption will depend if car manufacturers are able to offer products that cater to a uniquely Indian set of requirements – road conditions, consumer taste, affordability and commute patterns among others,” investors Garg, Bhasin and Agarwal, said in the statement.
The company claims to have received over 100 pre-orders for its electric car from the Maharashtra region.
E14 Technologies was founded in 2011 by Gupta, Jean-Luc Abaziou and Gilmer Blankenship. Gupta holds a master’s degree in telecommunications degree from the University of Maryland and has earlier worked as an engineer at Techno-Sciences Inc. before setting up Strom Motors.
Abaziou was the former chief executive officer of Techno-Sciences, while Blankenship is a professor of the department of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Maryland in the US.
Abaziou and Blankenship are both advisers for Strom Motors.
Founded in 2006, IAN has invested in startups in India and six other countries. Some of the sector-agnostic group’s portfolio companies include user engagement platform WebEngage, data protection firm Druva, food delivery firm Box8, enterprise software firm Sapience Analytics, quick service restaurant Wow! Momo and medical devices firm Consure to name a few.
IAN’s recent investments include an online student housing marketplace University Living, fin-tech startup Propelld, non-alcoholic beer maker Coolberg Beverages and Chennai-based rural e-commerce startup Inthree Access Services.
Deals in the space
A number of other startups have also forayed into the electric vehicle segment and raised funding from investors.
Last month, engineering company Greaves Cotton agreed to acquire a majority stake in electric two-wheeler maker Ampere Vehicles.
In the same month, TVS Motors made an additional investment of Rs 6 crore in electric bike maker Ultraviolette Automotive.
In July, Hero MotoCorp decided to invest Rs 130 crore ($19 million) more in Ather Energy. The two-wheeler maker had first invested Rs 205 crore in Ather Energy in 2016.
