EV charging infra startup Charge Zone scoops up $19 Mn

Electric vehicle (EV) charging network Charge Zone has received a $19 million commitment from British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution (DFI) and impact investor.

In March last year, the Vadodara-based startup scooped up $54 million in its Series A1 funding round led by BlueOrchard Finance.

Charge Zone will use the funds for expansion of its high-speed charging network for electric cars, buses, and trucks across key cities and highways in India, the company said in a press release. It also plans to roll out more than 1,500 supercharging stations over the next 18 months and reach a portfolio of over 10,000 charging stations by 2027.

Led by Kartikey Hariyani, the six-year-old Charge Zone provides super-fast EV charging with more than 3,200 points across more than 400 locations in India and UAE. The firm has tied up with several OEMs and e-mobility companies including Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, Volvo Eicher, Tata Motors, Marriott, Hyatt, Fortune, and Landmark Group.

Charge Zone added that the investment from BII is a part of their long-term plan to create a network of one million charging points for all 4W categories of vehicles including cars, buses and trucks by 2030. It will focus on key markets such as Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai.

For the fiscal year ended in March 2023, the company reported nearly three fold jump in its operating revenue to Rs 46.93 crore, according to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible. During the period, its losses surged two fold to  Rs 9.89 crore.

In the rapid EV charging space, it competes with ElectricPe, Bolt.Earth, Ather Energy, BluSmart, Magenta Power, among others.