EV Start-Up River Mobility Marks 40% of $120 Mn Round for R&D & Factory

River Mobility expects to achieve operational breakeven after crossing 25,000 monthly vehicle sales, which it targets in the first or second quarter of FY29, according to cofounder and CEO Aravind Mani.

While audited FY26 financials are yet to be released, Mani said the company's revenue grew about 4.4x year-on-year over FY25 revenue of ₹101 crore, with losses continuing as it invested in scaling the business

River plans to begin work on its second manufacturing facility within the next 45–60 days after finalising discussions with state governments. The new plant will support capacity expansion as its existing facility is expected to reach full utilisation in the next three to four months.

Of the $120 million (around ₹1,050 crore) raised by electric two-wheeler maker River Mobility in its oversubscribed Series C round, nearly 40% will be deployed towards research and development and factory expansion, cofounder and CEO Aravind Mani told Outlook Business.

The Bengaluru-based company is in the final stages of discussions with state governments for its second manufacturing facility and expects work on the new plant to begin within the next 45 to 60 days.

The $120 Mn comes from a mix round comprising $80-85% in equity funding and the remaining from venture debt.

Led by Elev8 Venture Partners and Claypond Capital, the round includes equity investors like Singularity AMC, Anicut Capital, 360 ONE Asset, JIF Capital and HDFC AMC, while Alteria Capital, Innoven Capital and Stride Ventures provided the venture debt. Existing backers Yamaha Motor Corporation, Al Futtaim Group and Mitsui & Co. also participated.

The fresh capital will be used to expand capacity at the company's existing manufacturing facility, set up a new greenfield plant in southern India, launch new products and invest in technology development.

Founded in 2021 by former Ultraviolette executives Aravind Mani and Vipin George, River manufactures multiutility e-scooters. It currently has only one model – Indie, which was launched in February 2023. The startup began sales of the escooter in October 2023.

River currently manufactures only the Indie electric scooter. Its existing plant has an installed capacity of around 10,000 units a month and is already about 60% utilised. According to Mani, the facility is expected to reach full capacity in the next three to four months, making additional manufacturing capacity necessary.

The company, which currently operates about 75 retail stores, plans to expand its network to more than 200 outlets by March 2027 and around 400 by March 2028.

River is also preparing to broaden its product portfolio beyond the Indie. While the company plans to launch new utility-focused electric scooters, Mani said it would retain the brand's positioning around utility and design.

"We have been able to build a very clear segmentation for River under utility scooters. The utility lifestyle has a clear position. We will continue what is working for us and create products that cater to slightly different customer segments," he said.

River's monthly sales have grown to nearly 6,000 units, giving it around a 3% share of India's electric two-wheeler market by volumes, according to Mani. He added that while the company ranks seventh by unit sales, it generates higher revenue than some larger-volume rivals because its products command an average selling price of around ₹1.55 lakh.

The company expects to remain loss-making until it reaches a significantly higher production scale. "We will continuously be loss-making till we are at 25,000 units a month because the cost structure comes down with volume," Mani said.

River expects to cross monthly sales of 25,000 units during the first or second quarter of FY29, following which it aims to achieve operational breakeven.