While the former is an NBFC focused on financing sustainability and clean energy projects in India, the latter is an Electric Vehicle Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) with a mission of enabling a better world through carbon-free road transportation. A debt financing tie-up of three crore rupees has been announced by cKers Finance with Altigreen. This facility will be used by Altigreen for working capital to manufacture the EV components and its cargo L5 electric three-wheeler.

While India is still in a nascent stage of Electric Vehicle (EV) adoption, the last mile transportation has started to witness some tangible take-off in the EV two-wheeler and three-wheeler markets. Lately, some of the forward-looking business houses and e-commerce platforms have started to replace Internal Combustion Engine fleets with EVs, in their supply chain. Altigreen is ideally positioned to provide customized last-mile transportation solutions for fleet owners and aggregators. Altigreen vehicles are fully certified and have already been deployed on Indian roads.

Altigreen’s vehicles are 100 per cent made in India with its own, indigenously developed technology including induction motors, clutch-less EV gearboxes and transmissions, power electronics, vehicle controls, digital display clusters and Internet of Things (IoT) . The financing line of cKers continues to build on its aims for faster adoption of clean mobility for passenger and last-mile transport. cKers is bullish about the evolution of a strong EV ecosystem and the growth that it will create for the Indian economy.

Speaking about the facility, Jayant Prasad, Executive Director, cKers Finance said, “Within the e-mobility sector, we are partnering with companies that are able to showcase a strong business model, proven unit-level economics and track record in raising institutional equity. Our understanding and research about the developments in the EV ecosystem enable us to confidently foray into the new upcoming segments. Altigreen meets all these criteria, the founding and leadership team of the Company is just as passionate as us to make carbon-free transportation not just exciting and economical, but accessible to all.”

Talking about the transition of the Indian EV market, Shalendra Gupta, Co-founder, Altigreen Propulsion Labs said, “We are excited to partner with cKers to accelerate the adoption of electric three-wheelers in India. Altigreen plans to enable the ecosystem for zero-emission vehicles, through differentiated end-customer mobility experience. EV manufacturing requires a significant investment of working capital by the OEM. Financing of vehicles for institutional buyers and smaller E-commerce delivery fleets is also an important enabler. cKers helps Altigreen in bridging both these gaps without which the growth of EVs in India and the Emerging Markets would remain inadequate.”

Speaking about the partnership, Deepak Gupta, Business Development Head at cKers said “Faster adoption of EVs in India is very likely in the commercial use segment where the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) advantage of EVs is greater due to the higher number of daily kilometres run. The gap of indigenous OEMs developing EVs suitable for Indian commercial use is aptly filled by Altigreen for the electric three-wheeler segment now and will help in the push towards adoption of cleaner mode of transport on Indian roads.”