Automotive supplier, Sona Comstar’s Chairman Sunjay Kapur has invested, through his family office, an undisclosed amount to acquire a stake in EV Charging start-up – Sunfuel Electric.
The start-up is said to specialize in premium charging infrastructure focused on luxury electric vehicles.
“It is crystal clear that the preference of car buyers in India is shifting to EVs over the past few years due to declining TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) which offsets the higher initial cost of an electric car. The revolution we see in the two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments will also repeat in the passenger car segment. Only the speed of transition will be gradual since the upgrade cycle of cars is comparatively longer compared to two-wheelers. This investment is my personal endeavour towards creating world-class charging infrastructure for these cars in line with our larger vision to create a sustainable mobility future”, said Kapur.
Sudhir Nayak, Founder & CEO, Sunfuel Electric said, “We need to make EVs aspirational and cool so that the masses aspire to buy them. It is a perfect business case as well; because most operators are focused on slow EV charging (AC or DC) since the adoption numbers are bigger there. Investments in the slow-charging network make sense in the short-run because the Capex to install them is comparatively less, and the majority of cars sold in India today do not support ultra-high-speed charging.”
“However, this leaves lacunae for high-end EVs sold in the country with no charging operator catering to their requirement for ultra-high-speed charging. Sunfuel fills that gap, and it is well on its way to creating a world-class, high-speed charging network in the country. Our current focus is destination charging though, and we have established a leadership position in that category with our indigenously designed charger Monolith – that comes replete with technology from Siemens,” added Nayak.
The start-up was founded in 2020 by Sudhir Nayak, Gul Panag, Mathew Koshy, and Rishabh Mehta with an aim to provide seamless charging experiences for EVs across the country.
It has established partnership partnered with leading hospitality companies such as Radisson Hotels Group, IHG hotels, ITC WelcomHeritage, and Club Mahindra to provide destination charging across luxury hotels and resorts across the country.