The UK’s development finance institution (DFI) and impact investor, British International Investment (BII), has committed $19 million to the electric vehicle (EV) charging network Charge Zone.
The Vadodara-based startup raised $54 million in its Series A1 funding round in March of last year, with BlueOrchard Finance leading the round.
According to a press release from the company, Charge Zone plans to use the money to expand its high-speed charging network for electric vehicles—including cars, buses, and trucks—across important Indian cities and highways. Additionally, it intends to add more than 1,500 supercharging stations within the next 18 months, bringing its total portfolio of charging stations to over 10,000 by 2027.
Six years old and operating over 3,200 EV charging points at over 400 locations in India and the United Arab Emirates, Charge Zone is led by Kartikey Hariyani. Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, Volvo Eicher, Tata Motors, Marriott, Hyatt, Fortune, and Landmark Group are just a few of the OEMs and e-mobility businesses with which the company has partnerships.
In addition, Charge Zone stated that the BII investment is a component of their long-term strategy to build a network of one million charging stations for all 4W vehicle categories, such as cars, buses, and trucks, by 2030. It will concentrate on important markets like Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Pune.
According to the media, the company reported a nearly three-fold increase in operating revenue to Rs 46.93 crore for the fiscal year that ended in March 2023. Its losses during that time doubled to Rs 9.89 crore.
Its competitors in the fast EV charging market include ElectricPe, Bolt.Earth, Ather Energy, BluSmart, and Magenta Power.
