EV maker Omega Seiki Mobility has formed a strategic partnership with Grip Invest for lease financing to retail investors, in a bid to cater to the growing demand for electric vehicles in the last-mile delivery segment.
Under the collaboration, Grip Invest, which is a digital platform for facilitating new-age investments, will finance 1,000 Rage+ Rapid e-three-wheelers of the company, with plans to expand to a minimum of 5,000 EVs by the end of the next year, Omega Seiki said.
The EV maker claims it has an existing order book of over 40,000 commercial electric vehicles.
The demand for leasing of commercial electric vehicles is very robust owing to the low-total cost of ownership, which is further fuelled by e-commerce players augmenting their EV fleet, the company said.
According to Omega Seiki Mobility, the global commercial vehicle rental and leasing market, which was valued at USD 77.42-billion in 2021, is expected to grow multi-fold over the next five years.
The absence of affordable financing options has proven to be a critical impediment for low-income patrons to change to EVs, said Uday Narang, Founder, and Chairman, of Omega Seiki Mobility.
"OSM scouts various ways to lease and supply electric three-wheelers, adding to the current EV thrust in the country. The collaboration with Grip Invest will work upon a stronger foothold of the EV in the existing market and accelerate the electrification drive," Narang added.
The company believes that the only way to be successful in the EV market is through association, he said, adding, "Therefore, Omega Seiki has been inking multiple partnerships to make these vehicles more accessible and affordable and further its green drive."
Electric three-wheelers are an emerging segment, where leasing out the vehicle appears to be a beneficial proposition for both ends, said Vivek Gulati, Co-Founder-COO, Grip, emphasizing that the collaboration will be a significant step ahead in democratizing and organizing the EV lease financing sector.
