Turno, which offers loans to buy electric vehicles, has launched out of stealth after closing a $3.1m funding round.
The round was led by Stellaris Venture Partners, with capital also coming from Avaana Capital. Support also came from several angel investors, including Bigbasket co-founder Vipul Parekh, Darwinbox co-founder Jayant Paleti, Mosaic Wellness co-founder Dhyanesh Shah, the Goenka Family Office of the Indian Express and many more.
Turno, which claims to be the first-of-its kind, has been operating in stealth mode since April 2022.
In just two months of operations, Turno claims to have captured 75% market share in the retail cargo 3W segment in Bangalore. It has also established partnerships with 3W electric original equipment manufacturers, including Mahindra, Piaggio, Omega Seiki Mobility, Etrio and more.
At its current growth rate, Turno expects to be the largest electric vehicle seller in the country by August 2022. Over the coming couple of months, Turno plans to launch operations in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, and NCR.
Turno co-founder and CEO Hemanth Aluru said, “At Turno, we envision the future of Indian transportation to be completely electric with zero dependence on fossil fuels. Today, commercial vehicles constitute about 80-85% of the entire fuel consumption in the country and our mission is to replace all diesel miles in commercial vehicles with electric miles.
“We are excited to have investors, who are amongst the few to understand the nuances of EV investments and share our deep passion for accelerating India’s transition to green mobility.”
The FinTech company offers a selection of financing options to help people own electric vehicles. Its loans have a low down payment of INR 49,000 ($633), with instant approval on loans and buy back guarantee.
Turno has launched a beta version of its customer app, which provides instant feedback to customers on their battery performance and behaviour changes that could extend the life.
Speaking on the investment, Stellaris Venture Partners’ Arpit Maheshwari said, “Electric Vehicles will reshape the automotive, mobility and energy industries. They are no longer part of some distant future, with the transition to electric increasingly visible with each passing day. Compared to their ICE counterparts, Commercial Electric Vehicles (CEVs) present a superior value proposition – better economics with high reliability – for fleet operators today. However, adoption has not taken off proportionately – buyers have important questions around choice, financing, and residual value.
“This presents a large and exciting opportunity to play the role of orchestrator in the CEV ecosystem, one that Turno is fulfilling.”
Earlier in the year, fully-electric vehicle manufacturer and services provider Volta Trucks collected $260m in its Series C.
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