MUMBAI: BP Ventures, the venture capital firm of the largest energy company BP, has invested $ 13 million in integrated electric vehicle transportation and charging company BluSmart. It is BP Ventures’ first direct investment in India. He led a $ 25 million Series A round that was also supported by Mayfield India Fund, 9Unicorns and Survam Partners, along with other existing investors.
BluSmart will use the capital to expand its fleet of electric vehicles and charging stations from its hometown of Delhi to five additional Indian cities in the next two years. The investment will help BP become a leader in the Indian mobility market and provide integrated energy and mobility solutions to help customers reduce their emissions around the world.
BP Ventures identifies and invests in new energy businesses that deliver BP’s net zero ambition.
BluSmart is India’s first and largest integrated electric vehicle charging and transportation company, aiming to deliver safer, cleaner and more sustainable mobility. It is the first service of its kind without price increases or trips rejected by drivers. Safety and cleanliness are paramount in the Indian market, and customers can see the last time each car was disinfected and the driver’s vaccination status through the BluSmart app. The company also removes the financial burden of vehicle ownership by leasing vehicles to drivers and oversees all vehicle maintenance to help reduce driver stress.
India is now the third largest startup market globally and its GDP is projected to be the third largest in the world by 2030. However, with 35 of the 50 most polluted cities in the world, there is a great need for low-tech in carbon to help make that growth compatible with your climate ambitions.
Richard Bartlett, Senior Vice President of Future Mobility & Solutions, said: “The electric mobility revolution will have a major impact on reducing vehicle emissions in cities, which in India are growing rapidly. BluSmart solves a number of key barriers to the acceptance of urban electric vehicles, from the cost to drivers to the quality of the customer experience. Our partnership is based on shared values; taking care of customers, colleagues and the environment, and with safety at the center of everything we do. We are excited to have made our first direct investment in India, to grow alongside the BluSmart business. ”
Urbanization is also increasing rapidly, with the UN projecting that the size of India’s urban population will nearly double from 2018 to 2050, which could create more congestion and environmental challenges that electric transport can help improve.
The industry is forecast to grow significantly, with mobility as a service projected to rise 15% of the 1.1 trillion kilometers to be traveled by passenger vehicles in India by 2030, compared to 5% of 477 one billion kilometers traveled today.
Anmol Singh Jaggi, co-founder of BluSmart, added: “We believe that electric mobility has enormous growth potential, driven in part by the increasingly favorable economy behind electric vehicles. With that in mind, we want to redefine vehicle transport. electric vehicles, and our focus on the consumer has helped us establish a strong brand presence in our core market, to date our vehicles have traveled more than 21 million kilometers. This latest injection of funds will help us grow as we work with bp to help transform India’s highly polluting cities and redefine electric vehicle transportation. ”
With the largest electric vehicle charging infrastructure in India and a growing fleet of electric vehicles, BluSmart aims to transform private transportation in the country. Business is growing rapidly in Delhi NCR, which accounts for 20% of India’s mobility market, which BluSmart estimates has already saved more than approximately 1,500 tons of CO2, with more than 650,000 passenger trips completed to date.
Sophia Nadur, Managing Partner of BP Ventures, will join BluSmart’s board of directors.
