Yulu receives USD 8 mn funding from Bajaj Auto

Shared e-mobility service provider Yulu on Tuesday said it has secured USD 8 million (approximately Rs 57.2 crore) investment from two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto.

As part of the tie-up, Yulu will source electric two-wheelers from Bajaj Auto which have been co-designed and manufactured exclusively for shared micro-mobility, Yulu said in a statement.

Bajaj Auto will also consider facilitating vehicle finance needs of Yulu for a large-scale deployment of its micro-mobility electric vehicles, it added.

We believe that... congestion reduction and pollution control will drive the segment of shared micro-mobility in the future," Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj said.

That, coupled with the expansion of mass rapid transport systems like Metro in large cities, will further boost the demand for flexible last-mile connectivity, he added.

"In Yulu, we find an experienced and committed partner with robust achievement of success metrics in a very short time. And this is why we decided to partner with them in their journey of bringing Yulu service to every neighbourhood of urban India," Bajaj said.

Yulu said the fresh round of investment will be utilised for further strengthening of the mobility platform and deepening of the technology solutions for rapid expansion.

The company plans to increase its fleet size to 1,00,000 electric two-wheelers by Dec 2020 with an extensive network of its battery-swapping stations across the cities where it operates.

"Yulu's electric two-wheelers will help Indian commuters with the first and the last mile connectivity option. This partnership aims to solve the mobility challenges of urban India in an eco-friendly manner," Yulu Co-Founder and CEO Amit Gupta said.

Currently, Yulu is present in Bengaluru, New Delhi, Pune, Greater Mumbai, and Bhubaneswar.