Video: How Yulu Built a Shared EV Business Around India's Gig Economy

From a simple idea inspired by China's shared mobility boom to becoming one of India's most prominent micro-mobility startups, Yulu's journey has been anything but straightforward.

In Episode 2 of Start to Scale, Autocar Professional's Prerna Lidhoo sits down with Naveen Dachuri, Co-founder and CTO of Yulu, to unpack how the company identified a massive mobility gap in India's cities, built vehicles specifically for shared use and navigated the challenges of scaling a capital-intensive business.

Naveen shares how Yulu's founders leveraged their personal networks to attract early investors, why gig workers became a critical customer segment and how the company designed its business model around asset longevity, vehicle uptime and operational efficiency. The conversation also explores the role of strategic investors, including Bajaj Auto and Magna, and how partnerships helped Yulu strengthen its position in the market.

With the company turning EBITDA positive, expanding deeper across cities and targeting 2–3x growth in FY27, Yulu is now entering a new phase of its journey. Naveen discusses what it takes to scale shared mobility in India, the economics behind the business and why an IPO could be on the horizon.

This is the story of how Yulu went from an ambitious startup idea to one of India's most closely watched mobility companies.