Commercial EV startup Turno raises over $3 million

A commercial EV start-up based in Bengaluru, Turno, has raised $3.1 million in equity funding. The investment was led by Stellaris Venture Partners, along with Avaana Capital.

Turno’s unique model enables the retail segment - individuals and SMEs - which constitutes 90 percent of commercial vehicles in India, to switch to electric vehicles. The company claims it has already captured a 75 percent market share in the retail cargo three-wheeler segment in Bengaluru in just 2 months of starting operations. It has partnered major OEMs like Mahindra Electric, Piaggio, Omega Seiki Mobility, Etrio and more. Over the next 1-2 months, the company plans to launch its operations in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, and NCR. 

Hemanth Aluru, Co-Founder and CEO Turno, said, “TWe are excited to have investors, who are amongst the few to understand the nuances of EV investments and share our deep passion for accelerating India’s transition to green mobility.”  

“Turno’s digital first approach has already disrupted the traditional offline sales channels, delivering 3x additional sales to our OEM partners. Today, we are delivering world class battery analytics and highest battery valuations to our customers. With this capital infusion, we will accelerate investments in our proprietary battery technology to lower the EV ownership costs even further," added Sudhindra Reddy, Co-founder and COO Turno. 

Arpit Maheshwari, Stellaris Venture Partners, commented on the investment “Compared to their ICE counterparts, Commercial Electric Vehicles (CEVs) present a superior value proposition - better economics with high reliability - for fleet operators today. However, adoption has not taken off proportionately - buyers have important questions around choice, financing, and residual value. This presents a large and exciting opportunity to play the role of orchestrator in the CEV ecosystem, one that Turno is fulfilling.”

Shruti Srivastava, Avaana Capital, further added, “ We are excited about the opportunity and their ability to build a scalable, defensible and market leading business."

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