BluSmart, an Indian ride-hailing startup that competes with Uber and Ola with its all-electric fleet, is looking to boost its battery charging infrastructure and expand its electric vehicle (EV) base.
The Gurugram-based startup has received fresh funding of $25 million from Switzerland-headquartered impact fund ResponsAbility on top of a public issue of $24 million and a rights issue of $42 million. BlueSmart will invest the funds to expand the EV charging infrastructure from the current 35 stations, which operate 4,000 chargers in total, to about 95–100 stations in the next few months.
Launched in December 2019, BluSmart means to expand its fleet of EV cars to 10,000 from the current 6,000, which is a mix of 180 MG SUVs and Tata Tigor cars. But for that expansion to work, the startup would need to expand its EV charging infrastructure. The move would yield substantial additional revenue, too, as the charging hubs would be open to the fast-growing number of EVs in India, propelled by the country's plan to electrify 30 percent of all its four-wheelers by 2030.
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Jaggi co-founded BluSmart with his brother, Puneet Jaggi, and Punit Goyal in 2019 to take on the Uber and SoftBank-backed Ola duopoly, initially in Delhi-NCR. In 2022, BluSmart expanded to Bengaluru and started intercity rides from Delhi-NCR within a 62-mile range to cities including Chandigarh and Jaipur.
Unlike Uber and Ola, which can be hailed whenever needed, customers must schedule their trips in advance to get a BlueSmart EV ride. BluSmart has no plans to change this model as it requires many more EVs in its fleet to enable the on-demand service.
