Chennai Startup’s Electric Two-Wheelers Raise $50 Million Funding

In 2020, more than 10 million electric vehicles were on the road worldwide. The sales of ebikes has also increased. An entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu realized the potential and the need to have electric vehicles (EVs), in 2014-15. He now runs one of the biggest electric two-wheeler businesses in Africa. 

Mansoor Al Buhari, the founder and chairman of M Auto Group of Companies, is Mansoor Alikhan. Serial entrepreneur, he originally thought of M Auto to be an auto company. 

His father, a native of Kottampatti, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, instilled the entrepreneurial spirit in him at a young age. 

“My father always told me that you should not work for someone else. You should hire others. Therefore, doing something on my own was always my goal,” says Mansoor.

He was 17 years old when he began his first business, Tirupur, with Rs 3000 and a golden coin.

The company, ‘Computer Planet’, dealt in sales and servicing of computers.    

“Many of my family members have textile businesses in Tirupur. From 2006 to 2007, I worked with them. Tradition dictated that everyone who comes to work should first fold the cloth. banians (vests) and storing them in boxes, washing machines, etc. That was something I didn’t like. With my uncle’s help, I got a job at a computer operator’s office. And once I learnt a little about computers, I started my own business,” says Mansoor.

Then he founded Computer Corporation of India (IT company), which operated from 2010-2013. And that’s when his friends introduced him to the auto industry. “At that time, there were no meter autos in Chennai. My friends were talking about how unorganized the large industry was. So, I came onboard ‘Namma Auto’ where we ran meter autos. However, I quit that after a few months due to personal reasons,” adds Mansoor.

Electrifying Autos

Soon, he started Makkal Auto or ‘M Auto’ to organise the sector and help auto drivers with their earnings, especially focusing on women drivers.

While running meter autos, he realised that while petrol prices kept changing, meter rates weren’t changed. The solution was electric autos.

“Initially, we would buy autos from Bajaj, TVS, add meters and give them out on lease. The rise in petrol prices was a major challenge. CNG had the same issues. Electric cars are the best long-term solution. After much research and development, I started retrofitting cars to make them electric. It cost us about Rs 75,000 to make an auto electric,” says Mansoor.

Then in 2019, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami officially launched M Auto Electric’s retrofit electric autos.

In addition to gender inclusion, the company trained 3,000 women as drivers of autos. 

They introduced 13 versions of the vehicle to assist businesses. They opened a massive plant in Chennai and began manufacturing.

“During the lockdown, I saw auto drivers in India using vehicles for other businesses like selling fruits and vegetables. So we introduced ‘business on wheels’ for almost 40 types of businesses, where the auto can be customised as per the needs of the entrepreneur like ‘m-veggies’, ‘m-garbage’, ‘m-ambulance’, etc. It is advantageous for them as they don’t have to spend on rent,” adds Mansoor.

They are currently working in India on the electric three-wheeler market, but they have also begun to look at other countries. 

Yasmeen Jawaharali, co-founder, M Auto Electric, says, “We realised that autos are used in many countries. We saw how much two-wheelers are used in Africa while traveling. Africa has a huge bike taxi market. We also discovered that Africa has visionary leaders who want to be green. We raised investment from Africa Transformation and Industrialisation Fund (ATIF) and are the biggest e-vehicle company here.” 

They have sold 2,500 two-wheelers and launched in Africa in Togo, Benin and Benin in 2020.

There are also orders for 15,000.

“We have raised $50 million in funding from investors in Africa to develop e-mobility here,” says Yasmeen, adding, “What we realised when we visited countries here is that the dependency on bike taxis is a lot. We started selling electric two-wheelers that were used to provide bike taxi services. We also made battery-swapping stations. We have also introduced the pay as you go model, which we hope to replicate in India. Riders pay a Rs 2,000 deposit to begin riding. If you recharge your vehicle, you can ride it, it’s that simple. In two-three years of continuous use, the vehicle becomes yours.”

Mansoor says that M Auto is currently building factories in Benin and Togo. According to Mansoor’s current plans, M Auto is looking to expand its presence in India and Africa. He also claims, “Our Chennai factory is operational and can manufacture 1,000 vehicles per month.” 

“We want to focus on the B2B segment in India for two-wheelers. We aim to provide end-to–end transport solutions, as well as fleet operations. I want to honour my father by providing jobs to more people in the coming years,” adds Mansoor.

Yoshita Rao edited the article

Sources

Global EV Outlook 2021