India’s EV Adoption Depends on Driver Economics
Electric three-wheelers are rapidly becoming the backbone of last-mile mobility across Indian cities. However, for drivers, EV adoption is still weighed down by high financing costs, battery downtime, and income uncertainty. As lenders and OEMs push adoption, the real challenge lies in making EVs economically viable for drivers who rely on daily earnings.
Funding Snapshot and Investor Context
Delhi-based EV mobility startup Chargeup has raised ₹22 crore (around $2.4 million) in a fresh funding round backed by IAN Group, along with Capital-A and existing investors.
This marks Chargeup’s third funding round and comes after a four-year gap. The company had earlier raised $7 million in a pre-Series A1 round in November 2022 led by Capital-A and Anicut Capital, following a $2.3 million pre-Series A round earlier that year.
What Chargeup Is Building
Founded in 2019 by Varun Goenka and Satish Mittal, Chargeup is building a driver-first EV technology platform for last-mile operators. The platform focuses on improving driver earnings by addressing financing friction, battery performance, and vehicle utilisation. Using IoT and data-led insights, Chargeup reduces credit risk for NBFCs while helping drivers maintain higher uptime, predictable incomes, and better resale value. It connects drivers, OEMs, dealers, and lenders into a single operating system.
Why This Funding Matters
The fresh capital will be used to expand into high-demand EV markets, strengthen Chargeup’s technology stack for drivers and lenders, and scale operations across regions seeing rapid electric three-wheeler adoption. With over 10,000 EV drivers already onboarded and plans to add 20,000 more by FY27, Chargeup is operating in a market estimated at $12 billion. For Indian founders, the message is clear: India’s EV transition will be won not just on vehicle sales, but on platforms that make electric mobility financially sustainable for the people who drive it every day.
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