Etrio raises $3 mn in Series A funding

Etrio, the Hyderabad-based retrofitted e-LCV pioneer, has raised $3 million in Series A round of funding from high net worth individual (HNI) investors based out of Singapore.

The group of investors is led by serial investor Janardhan Rao, founder of Triumph Global Group, a Singapore-headquartered international commodity trading house with a consolidated revenue of over $900 million.

The investment will fuel the company’s foray into new electric vehicles in the three-wheelers and bicycles space. Touro, Etrio`s three-wheeler brand, is scheduled for market launch in October 2020. It will have two variants Touro Mini and Touro Max, across both cargo and passenger segments. The cargo variant is currently undergoing pilots with leading e-commerce and logistics players and has already been booked for around 500 units.

Stepping into the electric bicycle (e-bike) segment, Etrio will also introduce the Ashva and iSwitch e-bike lines in the coming months. The company plans to scale up aggressively by deploying its electric range of vehicles through a mix of sales and leasing options.

Also read: Etrio launches retrofitted electric light commercial vehicle

Deepak MV, Co-Founder & CEO, Etrio, in a statement, said, “With over a year of extensive work, we finally make our big transition from retrofitment to creation of new electric vehicles. We will continue to evolve as an EV OEM, bringing reliable products based on superior vehicle architecture, efficient system integration, robust design, and connected systems to drive mass adoption of EVs in India.”

The company has dedicated vehicle manufacturing and assembly unit spread across 20,000 square feet at Hyderabad, and is in the process of achieving 100 per cent localisation of the supply chain by end FY21.

This series A investment constitutes the first part of fund-raising for the company. It plans to raise an additional round in early FY22 for investment in research and development (R&D), in-house manufacturing of key electric components and production capacity ramp-up.

Also read: E-Trio offers electric vehicle retrofit services

Etrio has gained the trust of e-commerce and logistics players Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket, Ikea, and LetsTransport, among others. Its recently launched e-LCV electric truck has presence in five cities.