Two-wheeler EV maker Simple Energy eyes another fundraise

IPO-bound electric two-wheeler maker Simple Energy is in "works" with a large fundraise to secure funds as it looks for more capital for enhancing production capacity and in supply chain, company's Founder and CEO, Suhas Rajkumar has said.

"We are in the works with a very large fundraiser," Rajkumar told PTI on the sidelines of the launch of its first family The Simple Wave.

Declining to give the quantum of funds the company was looking at, he said, "it is not just the product that is going to scale... for us backing is important because right now we can only scale up to 10,000. But beyond that, we need to infuse more capital in our factory and our supplier."

Once the company has it, he said it can unlock additional capacities, which means "we can start dominating the market share".

Launched at an introductory priced of Rs 1,09,999 in three variants -- Wave S, and Wave+, the company's latest offering will compete with the likes of Bajaj's Chetak, Ather's Rizta, and Hero MotoCorp's Vida and TVS' Orbiter.

"If we have an ambition of being in the top-5 in 18 months, the rationale behind that should be about how we can scale up production from here on and how we can utilise the models that we have today to reach the masses," Rajkumar said.

"Unless we do that, I think it's very difficult for us to be in the top-5. So, we are looking at about 10,000-12000 scooters by March this financial year," he said.

According to him, the company has been clocking 1,500-2,000 vehicles per month for the past six months and added that though the demand is for around 4,000, supply constraints are catering to only 50 per cent of this.

"Once we do that, the IPO plans will be solid and we will have a clear-cut path on EBITDA possibility and what our contribution margins are and how we look at an IPO in terms of timeline and in terms of the quantum that we want to raise. So, that is where we are headed now," he said.