Magna will increase wager on battery swapping in India with $35M for Yuma

Whereas battery swapping has struggled to take off in a lot of the world, Canadian auto elements big Magna Worldwide believes the mannequin may work at scale in India, the place hundreds of thousands of two- and three-wheelers and a fast-growing supply economic system create a unique set of economics.

And IT’s inserting that wager on Yuma Energy, a Bengaluru-based agency that operates a battery-swapping community for electrical two- and three-wheelers. Yuma, which spun out of Indian mobility startup Yulu in early 2023, has accomplished greater than 60 million swaps thus far and now has about 100,000 batteries deployed throughout its community.

Magna is now investing one other $35 million in Yuma, growing the auto provider’s stake from the 51% IT took when the three way partnership was shaped, Yuma managing director Muthu Subramanian mentioned in an interview. In consequence, Yulu’s 49% stake will probably be diluted. Subramanian declined to reveal the brand new possession break up.

Yulu and Yuma are Magna’s solely startup investments in India, the corporate confirmed to TechCrunch. In 2022, Magna dedicated a mixed $77 million to the 2 companies, with $25 million going to Yulu and IT/94159065″ goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener nofollow”>$52 million to the battery-swapping three way partnership.

Betting on India’s gig economic system

Magna’s newest funding hinges largely on India’s growing gig economy.

Supply riders can lose invaluable time, and income, whereas charging their EVs. Subramanian estimates that solely about 10% to fifteen% of automobiles utilized by gig employees in India are electrical right this moment, leaving appreciable room for operators corresponding to Yuma if extra of these riders change from gasoline-powered automobiles.

“With Indian gig employees’ excessive runtime each day, an EV makes absolute sense when it comes to price of possession,” Subramanian advised TechCrunch. “Uptime is vital.”

Yuma is focusing on these high-mileage riders, arguing that swapping is extra sensible than quick charging. A battery, Subramanian mentioned, could be exchanged in beneath two minutes, whereas even a 20- or 30-minute quick cost takes a rider off the highway and requires extra space and energy to serve a number of automobiles directly.

Nonetheless, constructing that comfort is dear, as Yuma has to maintain its batteries and swapping infrastructure prepared earlier than sufficient riders arrive to completely make the most of them. “IT’s a capital-intensive enterprise, and the unit economics will play out at scale,” Subramanian mentioned.

Yuma is just not worthwhile but, although a few of its older swapping stations are already EBITDA-positive, Subramanian mentioned. The agency operates greater than 400 stations with over 2,500 charging items and ended the monetary yr in March 2026 with about ₹1 billion (about $10.5 million) in income. IT is focusing on EBITDA break-even throughout the subsequent two quarters, Subramanian advised TechCrunch.

Getting there’ll nonetheless require Yuma to construct forward of demand. The agency plans to make use of the majority of Magna’s funding to broaden its swapping infrastructure and double its fleet of about 100,000 batteries over the following 12 to 18 months.

Yulu nonetheless accounts for the overwhelming majority of Yuma’s 60 million lifetime swaps, although that dependence has began to ease as about 15% to twenty% of swaps within the newest quarter got here from prospects apart from Yulu, Subramanian advised TechCrunch.

Past Yulu, Yuma now serves greater than 5 fleets and has built-in its batteries with greater than 10 car platforms, together with fashions from Kinetic Inexperienced, Motovolt, BGauss, and Quantum Vitality. The agency expects non-Yulu prospects to account for about 25% of its swaps throughout the subsequent two years, Subramanian mentioned.

Earlier this month, Yulu raised $93 million to develop its electrical two-wheeler fleet. Yuma will subsequently must broaden its community to maintain tempo with its largest buyer and accommodate newer fleets utilizing its batteries.

Yuma operates its battery-swapping community throughout 18 Indian cities, together with Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and the Delhi area, in addition to Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Coimbatore, Kochi, and Kolkata. With the recent capital, the agency plans to broaden into Chennai and Pune within the coming quarters whereas including extra stations in cities the place IT already operates.

India will stay Yuma’s focus for no less than the following 12 to 18 months. Nonetheless, Subramanian advised TechCrunch that the agency plans to take the mannequin abroad as a part of its longer-term roadmap. Southeast Asian markets together with Vietnam and Thailand, in addition to elements of Africa, could possibly be engaging due to their giant two-wheeler markets, he mentioned, although Yuma has but to start discussions about getting into them.

In contrast to operators that merely run swapping networks, Yuma designs and manufactures its personal battery packs and charging items. The agency makes battery packs at its facility in Chennai and charging items in Bengaluru, giving IT management over each the {hardware} and the community that manages them.