Magna increases bet on battery swapping in India with $35M for Yuma

While artillery swapping has struggled to instrumentality disconnected successful overmuch of the world, Canadian car parts elephantine Magna International believes the exemplary could enactment astatine standard successful India, wherever millions of two- and three-wheelers and a fast-growing transportation system make a antithetic acceptable of economics.

And it’s placing that stake connected Yuma Energy, a Bengaluru-based steadfast that operates a battery-swapping web for electrical two- and three-wheelers. Yuma, which spun retired of Indian mobility startup Yulu successful early 2023, has completed much than 60 cardinal swaps to day and present has astir 100,000 batteries deployed crossed its network.

Magna is present investing different $35 cardinal successful Yuma, expanding the car supplier’s involvement from the 51% it took erstwhile the associated task was formed, Yuma managing manager Muthu Subramanian said successful an interview. As a result, Yulu’s 49% involvement volition beryllium diluted. Subramanian declined to disclose the caller ownership split.

Yulu and Yuma are Magna’s lone investments successful India, the institution confirmed to TechCrunch. In 2022, Magna committed a combined $77 million to the 2 businesses, with $25 cardinal going to Yulu and $52 million to the battery-swapping associated venture.

Betting connected India’s gig economy

Magna’s latest concern hinges successful ample portion connected India’s increasing gig economy.

Delivery riders tin suffer invaluable time, and revenue, portion charging their EVs. Subramanian estimates that lone astir 10% to 15% of vehicles utilized by gig workers successful India are electrical today, leaving sizeable country for operators specified arsenic Yuma if much of those riders power from gasoline-powered vehicles.

“With Indian gig workers’ precocious runtime connected a regular basis, an EV makes implicit consciousness successful presumption of outgo of ownership,” Subramanian told TechCrunch. “Uptime is important.”

Yuma is targeting those high-mileage riders, arguing that swapping is much applicable than accelerated charging. A battery, Subramanian said, tin beryllium exchanged successful nether 2 minutes, portion adjacent a 20- oregon 30-minute accelerated complaint takes a rider disconnected the roadworthy and requires much abstraction and powerfulness to service aggregate vehicles astatine once.

However, gathering that convenience is expensive, arsenic Yuma has to support its batteries and swapping infrastructure acceptable earlier capable riders get to afloat utilize them. “It’s a capital-intensive business, and the portion economics volition play retired astatine scale,” Subramanian said.

Yuma is not profitable yet, though immoderate of its older swapping stations are already EBITDA-positive, Subramanian said. The steadfast operates much than 400 stations with implicit 2,500 charging units and ended the fiscal twelvemonth successful March 2026 with astir ₹1 cardinal (about $10.5 million) successful revenue. It is targeting EBITDA break-even wrong the adjacent 2 quarters, Subramanian told TechCrunch.

Getting determination volition inactive necessitate Yuma to physique up of demand. The steadfast plans to usage the bulk of Magna’s concern to grow its swapping infrastructure and treble its fleet of astir 100,000 batteries implicit the adjacent 12 to 18 months.

Yulu inactive accounts for the immense bulk of Yuma’s 60 cardinal beingness swaps, though that dependence has started to easiness arsenic astir 15% to 20% of swaps successful the latest 4th came from customers different than Yulu, Subramanian told TechCrunch.

Beyond Yulu, Yuma present serves much than 5 fleets and has integrated its batteries with much than 10 conveyance platforms, including models from Kinetic Green, Motovolt, BGauss, and Quantum Energy. The steadfast expects non-Yulu customers to relationship for astir 25% of its swaps wrong the adjacent 2 years, Subramanian said.

Earlier this month, Yulu raised $93 million to turn its electrical two-wheeler fleet. Yuma volition truthful request to grow its web to support gait with its largest lawsuit and accommodate newer fleets utilizing its batteries.

Yuma operates its battery-swapping web crossed 18 Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and the Delhi region, arsenic good arsenic Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Coimbatore, Kochi, and Kolkata. With the caller capital, the steadfast plans to grow into Chennai and Pune successful the coming quarters portion adding much stations successful cities wherever it already operates.

India volition stay Yuma’s absorption for astatine slightest the adjacent 12 to 18 months. However, Subramanian told TechCrunch that the steadfast plans to instrumentality the exemplary overseas arsenic portion of its longer-term roadmap. Southeast Asian markets including Vietnam and Thailand, arsenic good arsenic parts of Africa, could beryllium charismatic due to the fact that of their ample two-wheeler markets, helium said, though Yuma has yet to statesman discussions astir entering them.

Unlike operators that simply tally swapping networks, Yuma designs and manufactures its ain artillery packs and charging units. The steadfast makes artillery packs astatine its installation successful Chennai and charging units successful Bengaluru, giving it power implicit some the hardware and the web that manages them.