Exponent Energy's $40 million bet on electrifying India's autorickshaws
The company is targeting India’s large in-service auto base, allowing vehicle owners to switch to an EV and trim operating expenses by about ₹4,000-5,000 a month, chief executive Arun Vinayak said.
Battery-tech startup Exponent Energy plans to invest about $40 million over the next two years to scale and expand manufacturing for its newly-launched retrofit product that converts CNG and LPG autorickshaws into battery-electric vehicles, chief executive Arun Vinayak said.
The company also plans a sizeable equity raise next year to fund the rollout, added Vinayak without sharing the targeted size of the funding.
Branded ‘Exponent Oto’, the kit converts an autorickshaw to an electric vehicle (EV) in roughly 24 hours and enables 0-100% charging in about 15 minutes on Exponent’s city network.
The company is targeting India’s large in-service auto base, allowing vehicle owners to switch to an EV and trim operating expenses by about ₹4,000-5,000 a month, Vinayak said.
The firm plans to offer through a bundled subscription for battery, fast-charging and maintenance. With zero down-payment, flexible EMIs and an assured buyback after three years, Exponent says the shift to electric is designed to be simple and low-risk for drivers.
The retrofit kit is priced at around ₹1.7 lakh, with financing backed by the vehicle’s existing collateral, the chief executive said.
“A driver doing about 4,500 km a month spends ₹16,000-17,000 on CNG/LPG including maintenance; our subscription lands at ₹11,000-12,000 a month, so they save roughly ₹5,000 from day one," he said.
Vinayak said typical resale values for autorickshaws are now at ₹70,000–80,000, and Exponent is offering an assured buyback of about ₹1.2 lakh after three years to preserve asset value and enable upgrades.
The three-wheeler retrofit uses a 10 kWh battery that charges from 0-100% in about 15 minutes and delivers roughly 140 km of real-world range per full charge, according to the company.
“For retrofits alone, if we can target about 20 cities and convert just 1-2% of the installed base in each city, it’s an easily achievable revenue line. These vehicles will then use our charging stations, which then becomes a recurring revenue for us for at least around 5-7 years per vehicle," he added.
Beyond the retrofit, Exponent operates around 150 public charging networks across Bengaluru, the National Capital Region, Chennai and Ahmedabad.
Exponent has so far raised a total of $44.6 million in Pre-Series A, Series A and B, led by Lightspeed, Eight Roads Ventures, YourNest VC, 3one4 Capital, AdvantEdge VC, and the family office of Dr Pawan Munjal, the chairman and chief executive officer of Hero MotoCorp. In the two- and three-wheeler retrofit space, Exponent faces emerging competition from e-Vidyut, Etrio, Altigreen and others. e-Vidyut is backed by cross-border investor Pontaq and has focused on autorickshaw conversions. Etrio has raised around $3 million, led by Janardhan Rao (Triumph Global, Singapore) alongside angel investors. Altigreen has raised roughly $48 million to date, including a ₹300 crore (about $40 million) Series A, led by Sixth Sense Ventures in 2022.
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