CHARGE+ZONE, an EV charging company has raised $54 million in its Series A1 round led by BlueOrchard Finance along with the existing and new institutional investors. Of the funds raised, $8 million was invested in debt through an infrastructure strategy managed by Blue Orchard.
The funding will finance the immediate roll-out of 286 charging stations serving 1,130 e-buses and e-trucks and over 1,250 e-car fleets, in addition to new expansion targets for CHARGE+ZONE, according to a press release.
The company said, over the long term, the funding will contribute directly and indirectly to the creation of around 500 jobs.
“In the current phase, we aim to build 3,000 high-speed DC charging stations by 2025 and expand our network to enable e-mobility across the fleet and personal EV segment, including EV cars, buses, and trucks. The current Series A1 raise is part of the planned capex investment of $300 million, as we foresee crucial growth for the 4W e-mobility segment over the next 4-5 years,” said Kartikey Hariyani, Founder & CEO, CHARGE+ZONE.
According to the company, the Indian automotive industry is the fifth-largest globally and is expected to become the third-largest by 2030. Moreover, this will help achieve environmental targets to reduce emissions from internal combustion engines of diesel and petrol vehicles by 5,351 tonnes annually.
“With its management team of industry and finance experts, CHARGE+ZONE is ideally positioned to capitalize on the opportunities in the Indian e-bus market. We look forward to working with CHARGE+ZONE to advance the electrification of transportation in India and contribute to the country’s climate and environmental goals,” said Aurelia Marti, Investment Manager, Infrastructure at BlueOrchard.
CHARGE+ZONE works with various OEMs, eMobility providers, and local partnerships, including Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, AshokLeyland, VolvoEicher, Tata Motors, Marriott, Hyatt, and Fortune. As of March 2023, CHARGE+ZONE claims to have over 3,000 charging points across 1,500 EV charging stations in operation or construction in 37 cities, has covered more than 10,000 kms of highways and aims to reach one million charging points by 2030.