bp in EV charging start-up BluSmart

The move represents bp venture’s first direct investment in India and tenth in the mobility space.

bp ventures has made its first direct investment in India with a $13 million stake in integrated EV ride-hailing and charging company BluSmart. It led a $25 million Series A round that also saw support from Mayfield India Fund, 9Unicorns and Survam Partners, alongside other existing investors.

BluSmart will use the capital to expand its fleet of electric vehicles and charging stations from its home city of Delhi to five additional Indian cities in the next two years.

The mobility company is India’s first and largest integrated EV ride-hailing and charging company. It is the first service of its kind with no surge pricing or rides rejected by drivers. The company also removes the financial burden of vehicle ownership by leasing vehicles to drivers and oversees all vehicle maintenance, to help reduce driver stress.

“The electric mobility revolution will have a huge impact in reducing vehicle emissions in cities, which in India are growing quickly. BluSmart’s business model solves a number of key barriers to urban EV ride-hailing take-up, from the cost for drivers to the quality of customer experience,” said Richard Bartlett, SVP future mobility & solutions.

The industry is forecast to grow significantly, with mobility as a service projected to make up 15% of the 1.1 trillion kilometres to be travelled by passenger vehicles in India by 2030, compared to 5% of the 477 billion kilometres travelled today.

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