TVS acquires 15% stake in electric bike startup Ultraviolette

TVS Motor has acquired a minority stake of 14.78 per cent in Ultraviolette Automotive, a startup working on electric two-wheelers and energy infrastructure.

TVS has acquired 6,750 equity shares of Rs 10 each for Rs 7,409 per share. The total cost of acquisition would be around Rs 5 crore, according to a company filing with MCA, reported Mint.

Bengaluru-based Ultraviolette was incorporated in December 2015 by Niraj Rajmohan and Narayan Subramaniam. The company deals with designing and developing motorcycles and battery packs in order to give them a modern premium look.

Till now, it has tested three prototypes, however, has not launched an electric two-wheeler yet.

These vehicles are going to have high-end IOT interface so that your smartphone could be used to access your vehicle and also connect to the company on a real-time basis. The company is working on a series of IOT devices and accessories that would augment your entire user experience.

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The firm has reported a total revenue of Rs 3.21 lakh in 2016-17, shooting up from Rs 31,570 in 2015-16. This acquisition would provide the expertise exposure in the electric two-wheeler segment.

Additionally, TVS is developing an electric scooter code-named U218 in order to compete in the category with players like Bajaj Auto, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter, Mahindra 2 Wheelers and India Yamaha Motor, which are all set to launch electric two-wheelers in 2018.

Apart from TVS, country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp also invested in home-grown electric vehicle startup Ather Energy, which is aiming to open bookings for its first electric scooters in India by early 2018.

In October 2016, the startup received Rs 180 crore in its third round of funding from Hero MotoCorp. In exchange, Hero had picked up 26-30 per cent stake in the company.

Ultraviolette: Website