India’s electric mobility transition is accelerating—but the real challenge lies not in just making EVs available, but in making them accessible, especially for last-mile drivers. One company rising to this challenge is Pointo, a fast-growing Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) startup redefining how lithium-ion batteries are financed, distributed, and managed across India’s electric three-wheeler ecosystem. From small-town e-rickshaw drivers to large fleet operators, Pointo is making premium battery tech financially and operationally viable for all.
By offering flexible leasing, 15-minute financing, AI-powered diagnostics, and a circular battery lifecycle that spans from OEM integration to repurposing and recycling, Pointo is solving key pain points across India’s fragmented EV landscape—cost, servicing, risk, and disposal. With over 8,500 active users and growing presence in Tier-II and Tier-III cities like Patna and Jaipur, the company is not just delivering batteries, but enabling livelihoods and cleaner cities.
Whether it’s expanding access for rural drivers, building second-life applications, or collaborating with OEMs and financiers, Pointo’s tech-first, inclusive model is helping build a sustainable and scalable EV ecosystem for India’s future.
In a recent interview, Rashmi interacted with Riki Biswas, Founder & CEO at Pointo, and discussed the company’s unique battery-leasing model, circular economy goals, and future EV expansion plans.
Pointo offers monthly leasing and quick financing for lithium‑ion batteries. How has this model impacted battery adoption among e‑rickshaw drivers, particularly in low‑income or rural areas?
Yes, here at Pointo we’ve seen this model dramatically accelerate battery adoption. By shifting the financial burden from large upfront costs to a modest monthly leasing plan and a 15‑minute KYC financing process, we’ve opened doors for many low‑income drivers and fleets, especially in semi-urban regions. Lithium‑ion batteries often make up 30–40 % of an e‑rickshaw’s initial cost, placing premium packs out of reach for many drivers
Our approach which is loanable and leasable premium batteries can enable rapid adoption. As a pioneer in making batteries a loanable product we are allowing customers to treat them as a recurring investment rather than a sunk cost. This I believe is a breakthrough in financial accessibility for India’s EV sector.
Pointo also underwrites the customer very well, ensuring each user’s financial credibility is assessed in tandem with the battery’s projected performance, balancing risk for both parties. The broader industry context reinforces us: the India e‑rickshaw battery market is USD 203.9 million in 2024 and projected to hit USD 328 million by 2030, growing at 8.3 % CAGR. Another study indicates the e‑rickshaw battery market could reach USD 2.2 billion by 2025, scaling to USD 6 billion by 2030 at a 22.2 % CAGR .
These figures underscore what our data shows on the ground: affordability leads to adoption. By making high-performing batteries accessible and financially inclusive, we’re not just increasing volumes, we’re empowering drivers with reliability, earning potential, and resilience. And that drives our mission of sustainable, equitable mobility forward.
How is Pointo’s end‑to‑end battery service from distribution to repurposing solving key challenges in India’s electric three‑wheeler ecosystem?
At Pointo, our service isn’t just battery distribution, it’s a full lifecycle ecosystem that addresses core challenges in India’s electric three‑wheeler market.
We integrate premium lithium-ion packs into our partner OEM vehicles, reaching a wider audience. Leasing and quick financing enable drivers to switch from lead-acid to longer-lasting lithium systems without capital strain. We maintain our packs via remote diagnostics and a pan-India service network, reducing breakdowns and keeping vehicles moving.
Our proprietary DNA tracing offers end-to-end transparency, which builds trust across the ecosystem – drivers, fleet owners, financing partners, and insurers. Once a battery exits its first-life use in mobility, it’s graded, reconditioned, and redeployed into energy storage solutions and their third life is the recycling stage. This contributes to India’s circular economy, maximizes asset value, and helps reduce e-waste. This circularity answers two big industry pain points: high upfront cost and end-of-life battery disposal. Our predictive maintenance delicately extends battery life (often beyond 15–20 years in EVs at ~1.8% degradation per year) – while our second-life use avoids disposal headaches.
In short, Pointo’s integration of OEM distribution, leasing, servicing, immobilisation, and circularity offers a sustainable, trust-backed, end-to-end solution. It tackles affordability, uptime, regulatory compliance, and environmental stewardship, all crucial for scaling India’s electric three-wheeler future.
With operations already strong in West Bengal and expanding to cities like Patna and Jaipur, what factors guide your expansion strategy into new EV markets?
Yes, at Pointo we’re very deliberate with expansion. We evaluate each new region across four key fronts: EV demand potential, financial and regulatory support, ecosystem readiness, and ease of partner deployments. We target corridors where e‑rickshaw adoption is clearly scaling. For instance, the India electric-rickshaw market was USD 1.4 B in 2024 and is set to reach USD 3.0 B by 2033 (CAGR 7.9%). Many of these rapidly growing corridors are Tier‑II and Tier‑III cities.
We look at the creditworthiness of the driver segment. L3 drivers in states like West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are proving to be financially disciplined with strong CIBIL scores and lower-than-expected default rates. This makes these regions ideal for scaling our Battery-as-a-Service and leasing models.
We also evaluate ecosystem readiness, this includes local OEM partnerships, vehicle compatibility, and the maturity of servicing and charging infrastructure. We only enter markets where partners like Neurone are present and aligned with our tech ecosystem.
Besides this, we layer in regulatory and financial enablers, such as state EV policies, battery subsidies, and minimal red tape around permits and deployment.
This strategic, data-led approach helps us in strategic expansion.
Pointo supports second-life applications for batteries. Can you elaborate on how you repurpose used batteries and what role this plays in reducing e-waste and supporting India’s sustainability goals?
At Pointo, circularity is core to our mission. Every battery is tracked from Day 1 using our proprietary DNA-tag system. When a pack’s EV performance dips below our first-life threshold, it’s graded using remote health analytics and specialist diagnostics. The batteries that hold good capacity get redeployed into second-life stationary storage, serving micro-grids, backup power, and community storage near fleets. Post that these batteries enter a third-life of recycling..
This approach extends full battery utility from 3-5 years of mobility use to possibly 8-10 years total cycle life. Considering India produced ≈2.4 million e-rickshaws as of 2022 with ~11,000 new units per month (~USD 3.1 B market) , repurposing avoids mass lithium waste, conserves raw material, and significantly cuts e-waste.
It also aligns with national sustainability goals: India’s battery market is projected to grow from USD 10.45 B in 2025 to USD 20.24 B by 2031 at 11.5 % CAGR, something only sustainable circular models can support.
Ultimately, by maximizing lifecycle value and minimizing environmental impact, Pointo is building a durable, low‑carbon future for India’s EV infrastructure.
You’ve partnered with OEMs, financiers, and insurers. How important are these collaborations in scaling your battery leasing model and ensuring broader EV adoption?
Our partnerships create the ecosystemic backbone for scaling. On the OEM front, we’ve integrated seamlessly with companies like Neurone, uniformly offering high-quality, assured batteries designed for leasing. In August 2024, we partnered with Neuron Energy to deploy lithium-ion batteries in key markets .
Besides this, our financial partners underwrite leases via our 15‑minute KYC process, driving trust, speed, and convenience for drivers. Additionally, remote immobilisation and predictive analytics enable us to lower NPLs and streamline servicing expenses.
These linkages help us tackle three primary scaling barriers: affordability, financing friction, and asset protection. Today, leasing and quick financing account for less turnover in similar models. By uniting OEMs, financiers, and insurers, Pointo ensures our leasing/financing offering is not just financially accessible, but also reliable and scalable across India’s complex mobility landscape.
Pointo aims to make battery access seamless and inclusive. What do you see as the biggest barriers to electric mobility in India today and how is Pointo helping overcome them?
Key barriers to EV mobility in India include high upfront battery costs, limited servicing, theft concerns, financial risk, and constrained interoperability across vehicle platforms.
Most vehicles still use lead-acid, but lithium-ion provides double the range, weight savings, and faster charging. Yet high upfront cost, 30–40 % of an e-rickshaw’s total, discourages adoption . Our leasing and 15‑minute financing tackle this head-on, opening premium battery access to low‑income operators.
Service accessibility is another major barrier, e-rickshaw drivers simply can’t afford unplanned downtime. That’s why our pan-India partner network, backed by remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance, and GPS-enabled support, drastically reduces breakdown durations. Immobilisation technology further strengthens vehicle security, preventing misuse and theft. Over a typical 4-year tenure, a driver using a Pointo battery can save up to ₹1 lakh, including financing costs, compared to lead-acid alternatives. That’s nearly 40% in savings, making a strong case for smart battery adoption in India’s growing EV ecosystem.
Interoperability gaps, between OEMs, battery tech, and software, have been a core challenge. Pointo’s DNA-tracked universal battery packs and open API integration align with multiple OEM platforms and insurers, increasing plug-and-play simplicity in markets where standards are evolving.
By combining affordability, reliable uptime, theft protection, financing, and tech-standardization, we’re transforming what it takes to adopt EV mobility, from risky to smooth, inclusive, and sustainable.
How is your use of AI and IoT especially GPS tracking and predictive analytics helping optimize fleet performance and minimize battery failures in the field?
Our AI‑IoT platform merges real-time GPS, battery health telemetry, and predictive analytics into one unified system. Each pack is fitted with sensors that stream cycle count, voltage uniformity, internal resistance, temperature, and location data into the cloud, analyzed by proprietary AI models.
GPS tracking offers more than geo‑fencing; it records route efficiency and idle time. If a vehicle deviates or stops unexpectedly, our remote support team is alerted instantly.
These insights also benefit fleet managers. That level of intelligence significantly improves vehicle efficiency, lowers warranty costs, reduces field interventions, and ensures vehicles are on road more hours, resulting in tangible boosts in revenue per vehicle.
You’ve developed a nationwide service support model. What are the key elements that ensure uptime and reliability for your growing base of 8,000+ EV users?
Our pan‑India support model is anchored on five pillars: predictive maintenance, remote diagnostics, regional micro‑fulfillment, rapid field teams, and stakeholder alignment.
- Remote diagnostics enable real-time checks on pack health, dramatically reducing unnecessary field visits.
- Regional micro-fulfillment centers across expansion corridors stock critical spares and enable 24‑hour turnaround.
- Rapid response teams are deployed within a 24 hours of TAT radius, ensuring that drivers spend minimal time out of service.
- Aligned partners, OEMs, financiers, insurers, support swift battery swaps under warranty, underwritten via our GPS tracking and anti-theft protocols.
This comprehensive model keeps our 8,500+ active drivers moving reliably, while enabling scalable growth. It’s the backbone that turns leasing and tech into a reliable service proposition.
Looking ahead, how does Pointo envision scaling its impact in India’s EV market? Will you expand beyond three-wheelers or into battery swapping infrastructure as well?
Absolutely. While three‑wheelers are our core today, our model is built for scalability across EV segments, two‑wheelers, e-buses, even light commercial vehicles. Our DNA-tagged, universal packs can service multiple platforms. Moreover, with India’s EV battery demand isn’t limited to mobility. Grid and stationary storage are also surging.
We’re building partnerships with solar micro-grid operators to use second-life packs for campus microgrids and rural backup.
Geographically, we aim to scale to 10+ cities in 24 months, leveraging current investments (₹0.8 million seed funding). With continued expansion, R&D, and ecosystem partnerships, Pointo aspires to become India’s go-to battery‑as‑a‑service infrastructure, across vehicles, fleets, micro-grids, and circular business models.