Reliance Joins Altigreen in the EV Race

Reliance New Energy Ltd (RNEL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), has announced an agreement with Altigreen Propulsion Labs Private Limited (Altigreen), a Bengaluru-based electric vehicle technology and solutions company for commercial last-mile transportation through two, three, or four-wheelers. .

“Reliance New Energy Ltd (RNEL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, has entered into an agreement with Altigreen for the subscription of 34,000 Series-A Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares of face value Rs 100 each for an aggregate consideration of Rs 50.16 crore,” Reliance said in a stock exchange filing.

Reliance did not reveal how much equity shareholding it will get against its investment. The transaction is to be completed before March 2022. The investment is claimed to be in line with RNEL’s strategic intent of collaborating with companies in the new energy and new mobility ecosystems.

Altigreen also deals in electric motors and generators, vehicle controls, motor controls, EV transmissions, telematics and Internet of Things, and battery management. It possesses a patent portfolio of 26 global patents spanning 60 countries. The firm has also developed an E3W vehicle and claims that its products are built in-house in Bengaluru on a 100 percent indigenous mobility platform.

“The investment is part of our company’s strategic intent of collaborating with innovative companies in new energy and new mobility ecosystems,” it said.

Incorporated in February 2013, Altigreen registered a turnover of Rs 103.82 lakhs in FY2020-21.

EVs on the Rise in India

RNEL is the latest to jump on the bandwagon of EV adoption currently being observed in India. The consumer demand for EVs is on rise in the country. In November 2021, national EV sales hit 42,055 units, an 8.7 percent rise month-on-month (MoM). Driven primarily by electric two-wheeler and passenger-type electric three-wheelers, the sales were 227% higher than that of the same month in 2020. This was also the first time that EV registrations crossed the 40,000-mark in any month. The growth is in line with global trends as EV sales touched 6.6 million worldwide last year.