Euler Motors enters electric LCV market, launches Storm EV at Rs 8.99 lakh

Euler Motors has launched two Storm models — the Storm EV T1250 and the Storm EV LongRange 200.

Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Euler Motors has entered the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment with the launch of its first four-wheeler EV on September 25. The New Delhi-based EV startup, which sells electric three-wheelers, has introduced two Storm EV trims developed to serve inter and intra-city travel requirements.

Introduced at a starting ex-showroom price of Rs 8.99 lakh (Delhi), the electric LCV has a payload capacity of around 1,250 kg and will be available in two trims- Storm EV and Storm EV Long Range. The Long Range variant of this model that is meant for intercity applications has a claimed range of 200 km with a 30kWh battery. The Storm EV  (T1250 and T1250 Armoured variants) offer a 140 km range with a 19 kWh battery.

“For us it was the right time to launch this vehicle. That is because we need to hit the price parity, performance and efficiency, similar to ICE vehicles. We came up with a ground-up EV rather than retrofitting an existing ICE truck,” Euler Motor’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer Saurav Kumar told reporters on the sidelines of launching the product.

The EV startup has spent Rs 100 crore for the design and development of this model at its in-house R&D Centre at Palwal, Haryana. The company will introduce the two models in seven major cities, including Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad and later take them to other cities where it operates.

“Both products come with ADAS technology and various other features, including night vision assist,” added Kumar.

He stated that EVs account for less than a percent of the overall small commercial vehicles (SCV) sales in the country."In three-wheelers, we have been able to take 20 percent market share in the cities where we operate. We would like to take a similar kind of percentage even in the small commercial vehicle vertical," Kumar said.

In the electric light commercial vehicle segment, Euler Motors will now be taking on traditional players such as Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) and Ashok Leyland-owned Switch Mobility.

When asked to share the sales target for the new vehicle, he said that the company would like to grow the overall electric SCV segment and then push for market share similar to the one it has in the electric three-wheelers.

The SCV range would be rolled out from the company's Haryana facility. The company has recently announced that it has invested Rs 100 crore in this facility, which has the capacity to produce 36,000 units per year.

In May, Euler raised Rs 200 crore in a series C funding round. Existing investors are Asia-Pacific Strategic Investments, British International Investment, GIC (Singapore), Blume Venture Green Frontier Capital, and Piramal Alternatives India Access Fund led the round.

Talking about its next fundraising plans, Kumar said, “It is a continuous process as we have done it six to seven times since 2018 till now. We will continue to raise funds from existing investors till our cash flow and profitability point goes through. That is because EV is a segment we are going to invest significantly going forward.”

Asked if an IPO was on the cards, Kumar said, "Every founder wants to build a company that makes an impact, and generates returns for the shareholders and the board members. So, it's something that you definitely look forward to but it's still early in our journey."

"Right now, we are launching the product. We would want to grow this segment and then hopefully over a period of time, think about it."