HOP Electric Mobility, India’s fastest-growing electric vehicle manufacturer, has closed a strategic round of USD 2.6 million as part of an ongoing USD 10 million pre-series fundraiser. The company has achieved the milestone of reaching 105 retail touchpoints with 6200+ on-road scooters in 2021, and with this fundraising, HOP Electric Mobility is targeting 10X growth this year.
Ketan Mehta, Founder & CEO – HOP Electric Mobility explained the significance of the investment and the role of the investor in HOP, said “Our strategic investor, a public-listed company reaffirmed their commitment and synergies in pursuing sustainable business opportunities. The same investor has previously supported HOP Electric Mobility in becoming a successful mandate holder of the Government of India’s (GOI) ambitious INR 26,058 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Auto under the New Non-Automotive Investor (OEM) category. Under this mandate, we will be investing more than INR 2000 crore in India in the next five years. The goal is to bolster India’s manufacturing capacities and boost HOP Electric’s chances of becoming a global energy mobility pioneer.”
At present, HOP Electric Mobility is growing at a month-on-month rate of 50%. The company is hiring across all verticals, especially in the design, engineering, battery, cell, and Research & Development verticals. Furthermore, HOP Electric Mobility has also embarked on its multi-battery modular platform’s design and engineering journey. The company is developing Gen 2 Smart Batteries and Swapping stations. It will roll out two new products on the new platform supported by Gen 2 batteries and a swapping station in FY23.
Nikhil Bhatia, Chief Operating Officer – HOP Electric Mobility said, “Investing in EV mobility is becoming the go-to choice in India. Especially because people are consciously making eco-friendly and sustainable choices. At HOP Electric Mobility, we aspire to make the entire EV ecosystem more inclusive, convenient, and cost-efficient so that everyone can become a part of this energy mobility revolution. The recently closed strategic funding is a morale booster for the entire HOP family, which is working relentlessly to provide best-in-class energy mobility solutions to your doorstep. The conviction and confidence of such prominent investors encourage us to do better every day. We are positive that this pre-seed fundraiser will soon reach its goal.”
Additionally, it left no stones unturned for its flagship product HOP OXO, an upcoming state-of-the-art electric motorbike. Under the #OXOSNEAKPEEK program, the company has completed 75,000 km of road testing across 14 states and is gearing up for commercial production. HOP OXO has successfully cleared all tests in ARAI, including AIS 156 for batteries. It is pertinent to note that HOP OXO has been designed and developed indigenously in compliance with FAME II norms. The company is planning to launch it in later half of June/ early July.
Apart from HOP OXO, which caters to the mass market commuter segment, HOP Electric Mobility has another electric scooter in the pipeline. Internally called HOP LYF 2.0, this advanced electric scooter has completed the design and engineering cycle. This cutting-edge product will likely launch in the third quarter of this financial year. And it goes without saying that both upcoming products are robustly built to suit the needs of Indian consumers with respect to diverse weather and road conditions.
HOP Electric Mobility is a new energy automotive start-up working on advanced automotive technology products. Founded by IIT Roorkee alumni and Forbes 30 under 30 Ketan Mehta (CEO), Nikhil Bhatia (COO) & Rahil Gupta (CTO), HOP currently has a strong 140 people team. It also has a brilliant leadership team comprising industry experts from Mahindra, Honda, Hero, TVS, Ather, RE, Sahara, etc. The company presently has a manufacturing capacity of 1.8 lakh units per annum.
