South Asia Growth Invest III LLC and South Asia EBT Trust III (together GEF Capital Partners) have contributed ₹5.8 billion (~$69.5 million) in equity and convertible preference shares to TI Clean Mobility (TICMPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tube Investments of India, a Murugappa Group firm.
Under the brand “Montra Electric,” TICMPL initially entered the last-mile mobility market with an electric three-wheeler lineup.
Prior to now, the business had declared its intention to raise ₹30 billion (~$35.93 billion) to finance its several electric vehicle (EV) divisions. With the GEF investment, the total amount raised would be ₹25.3 billion (~$299.76 million).
The goal of TICMPL is to create EV native platforms for tractors, small and large commercial vehicles, and three-wheelers. The business also intends to introduce small commercial cars and electric tractors.
Sridhar Narayan, Co-Founder and Managing join of GEF Capital Partners, stated, “We’re excited to partner with the Murugappa Group and invest in TI Clean Mobility – its differentiated platform targeting productive sub-segments with a strong focus on electrification.”
For this transaction, TICMPL’s financial advisor was Kotak Investment Banking.
The Ministry of Heavy Industries introduced the Electric Mobility Promotion Program 2024 in March 2024 in an effort to reduce the cost and promote environmentally friendly public transportation. The program is designed for electric vehicles with two or three wheels, such as L5 category cars, e-rickshaws, and e-carts.
In comparison to the 347,676 EVs sold in 2023, EV sales in India jumped by almost 40% to a record 486,669 units in the first quarter of 2024. During the quarter, the monthly threshold of 100,000 units was exceeded by the EV market. With 204,337 copies sold, March’s monthly sales were the greatest to date.
Additionally, India is providing lower customs duty rates of 15% for a period of five years to foreign manufacturers who invest a minimum of ₹41.5 billion (~$500 million) to construct electric vehicle manufacturing facilities in the nation. There are several restrictions attached to this relaxation, such as the fact that only EVs with a cost, insurance, and freight value of $35,000 or more can be imported under this scheme.
