Reva Electric Car Company secures $20 million investment

04 December 2006

Mumbai: India's only electric car manufacturer Reva Electric Car Company Pvt. Ltd. (RECC) has received an overseas investment of $20 million. Draper Fisher Jurveston (DFJ) and Global Environment Fund (GEF) led the investment round in support of RECC's global growth. Edelweiss Capital acted as exclusive financial advisor to Reva on the complete transaction.

The Bangalore-based RECC has an installed capacity of 6,000 electric cars per annum and employs 240. After seven years of R&D in developing a commercially viable electric car, the company commercialised its operations in June 2001 with India's first zero polluting electric vehicle.

Today it has 1,800 vehicles on the road and is also being test marketed in the US, Norway, Spain and other EU countries and holds 10 patents.
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This investment will help RECC to expand and consolidate its position as one of the pioneers in automobiles fuelled by electricity rather than fossil fuels that drive today's internal combustion engines.

One of the fastest growing electric car companies, RECC's Reva cars enjoy a favourable brand equity among environment friendly passenger cars. Reva will use this investment to expand its business by increasing its production capacity, developing newer models and further enhancing its international and domestic distribution.

Speaking on the investment, Dr S K Maini, chairman, RECC, said, "We are very pleased to have received this significant investment from GEF and DFJ and look forward to their experience in helping us to become global leader in the electric vehicle market. This investment has come at a very opportune time and we will certainly use it to leverage our global brand recognition

"Since 1990, Global Environment Fund has reviewed scores of business plans from electric car companies proposing to displace the internal combustion engine," says H. Jeffery Leonard, president and CEO, GEF, who has joined RECC's board of directors.

GEF manages private equity funds totalling approximately $850 million. Since 1994, GEF has undertaken private investments in India focused in the energy and environmental sectors through private equity transactions in companies engaged in renewable energy generation (wind power and pumped storage), natural gas production and distribution, environmental pollution control and water treatment.

RECC is the first global investment in an electric vehicle company by GEF.