PURE EV, an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad-incubated startup, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding.

The new round of funding is expected to enhance the company’s operations and production capacity. PURE EV is in the process of launching a high-speed motorcycle with battery swapping in early 2020. This is the first round of funding for the company as it plans to increase the manufacturing capacity to 2,000 units per month by October 2019.

The funding comes from Hyderabad-based investor V.C. Nannapaneni who has invested in his individual capacity. The move comes at a juncture when the company is planning an upgrade to its manufacturing capacity and research and development (R&D) initiatives. The development of a high-speed and long-range scooter and motorcycle is in the works which is scheduled for commercial launch in October 2019 and early 2020 respectively.

The company has also been developing a prototype of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) electric truck and bus powered by lithium battery modules.

“The vision and the zeal of the founders has been noteworthy and aligned with our vision to promote young entrepreneurs in areas with the highest level of societal impact and value addition to the local economy.  The nurture and support of IIT Hyderabad in helping them grow to their current stature is highly appreciative. We hope they are able to succeed in their vision to promote usage of electric vehicles amongst the masses,” said V.C. Nannapaneni.

Ather Energy, India’s intelligent electric scooter manufacturer, recently raised $51 million in its latest round of funding, led by Flipkart’s co-founder Sachin Bansal’s investment of $32 million.

In a welcome development for the EV sector, this year’s newly-introduced budget has also announced numerous incentives to encourage consumers to uptake electric vehicles. The categories of EVs supported through budgetary incentives are electric buses, four-wheelers, three-wheelers, and two-wheelers.

Image Credit: Matti Blume [CC BY-SA 4.0]