The Hindu Business Line : Reva gets $20-m funding; new facility planned

BIG PLANS AHEAD: Mr Sudarshan K. Maini (left), Chairman, Maini Group of Industries, and Mr Chetan Maini, Deputy Chairman and CTO, Reva Electric Car Company, at a press conference in Bangalore on Saturday. — G.R.N. Somashekar

Reva Electric Car Company Pvt Ltd has received $20-million funding from Global Environment Fund (GEF) and Draper Fisher Jurveston (DFJ). Announcing this here on Saturday, Mr S.K. Maini, Chairman, Reva Electric Car Company, said that the investment would be used to increase the company's working capital for immediate production, develop newer models for the international markets and set up a new facility in the next five years. Currently, the company's plant in Bangalore has a production capacity of 6,000 vehicles a year, which would be expanded to manufacture 30,000 vehicles.

The company will also look at enhancing its global presence with this investment. Currently, about 1,800 Reva cars are on the road, 600 of which are in the UK. The electric car is being marketed in Italy, Sri Lanka, Cyprus, Greece and Malta and is being test marketed in the US, Norway and Spain.

Commenting on the investment, Mr Jeffrey Leonard, President and Funding Shareholder, GEF said, "the timing is right because electric vehicles are here to stay." GEF is the largest private equity fund investing predominantly in cleaner energy and environment ventures.

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