Earlier we had reported that Magna International had invested Rs 653 crore in Indian electric mobility service start-up Yulu and now that has spawned a new BaaS (battery as a service) company, named Yuma Energy.
Yuma Energy battery charging and swapping network: details
Yuma Energy has showcased its next-generation battery charging and swapping network for electric two-wheelers in India, with 85 such stations already being set up in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi. It plans to scale the network up to 500 stations in multiple cities by end-2023.
While Yuma swap stations cater to Yulu’s e-bike fleet in these cities, it will also target other OEMs and e-mobility operators to enable reliable, convenient and efficient access for battery swapping to their customers.
Yulu to expand fleet to 1 lakh e-bikes by end-2023
Yulu, which is a key player in the last-mile delivery enablement segment in India, is aiming to aggressively scale up its vehicle fleet to 1 lakh e-bikes by the end of the calendar and is the prime customer for Yuma Energy.
“Yulu is presently our anchor customer and their focus is on last-mile delivery as well as personal and shared-mobility platforms. As we scale our network, we will be able to offer swapping solutions to other use cases as well. We are in the process of developing that right now and are hopeful of introducing it in the near future,” said Matteo Del Sorbo, executive vice-president, Magna International.
With these new swap stations, Yuma Energy has introduced what it calls its next-generation 48V, lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cell battery which is being assembled in Pune. While volumes and scale will determine opportunities for cell manufacturers to localise lithium-ion cells in the country, Yuma Energy says it is constantly working on improving the efficiency and cost competitiveness of its batteries.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
