BluSmart Amps Up Rivalry With Uber in India, Invests $25M in EV Charging Infrastructure

BluSmart, an Indian ride-hailing firm that competes with Uber and indigenous competitor Ola with its all-electric fleet, is trying to expand its battery charging infrastructure since the South Asian country presently has few charging stations but wants to increase its electric vehicle (EV) base.

BluSmart, India's Uber Competitor, Invests $25M To Expand EV Charging

The Gurugram-based business has raised $25 million in new capital from Swiss impact fund ResponsAbility in a mezzanine structure that includes partly stock dilution and debt. The goal of raising this capital—just a month after a $24 million rights issue and a few months after another $42 million rights issue—is to expand the EV charging infrastructure from the current 35 stations, which operate 4,000 chargers in total, to approximately 95–100 stations in the coming months.

BluSmart, which debuted in December 2019, presently has a fleet of 6,000 EVs, including around 180 ZS SUVs from MG Motor and the remainder of the sedan Tata Tigor vehicles, which it hopes to increase to 10,000 later this year. However, before it can expand, the firm must first improve its EV charging infrastructure.

The extension of the charging infrastructure will also help BluSmart earn extra money, as it plans to open its charging stations to the public in the future to capitalize on the country's goal of electrifying 30% of all four-wheelers by 2030.

“This $25 million should help us expand the charging infrastructure from the 35 super hubs we have right now to maybe another 60 charging hubs,” BluSmart co-founder Anmol Jaggi told TechCrunch.

Jaggi co-founded BluSmart in 2019 with his brother Puneet Jaggi and another co-founder, Punit Goyal, to compete with the duopoly of Uber and SoftBank-backed Ola. It commenced operations just before the global COVID-19 lockdown, which had a major impact on businesses globally, particularly ride-hailing services.

BluSmart's Electric Fleet Innovates Urban Travel, Balancing Sustainability with Service

The firm grabbed public notice after easing the initial lockout for providing a premium service, months after launching its all-EV fleet in Delhi-NCR. BluSmart expanded to Bengaluru in 2022 and began offering interstate services to places like Chandigarh and Jaipur within a 62-mile radius of Delhi-NCR.

Unlike Uber and Ola, which provide on-demand taxis in India, BluSmart exclusively offers electric vehicle (EV) rides that must be scheduled in advance. While this is a big deviation from the usual, BluSmart has no intentions to modify the model because the on-demand service requires a large number of EVs in the fleet.

Nonetheless, the different approach, which compels users to book and wait for their taxis, has gained some traction.

Photo: BluSmart Website