Nearly 2,000 BluSmart EVs on the block as lenders, lessors look to recover money
Lenders and leasing companies are looking to sell 1,500-2,000 electric vehicles which were listed on
BluSmart
, the ride-hailing platform that last month suspended operations indefinitely after failing to raise funds amid allegations of financial irregularities against its founders, people familiar with the matter said.
Banks and non-banking financial companies, investment platforms, climate financing institutions and even wealthy individuals are among those looking to sell these EVs they have financed or leased to BluSmart to recover their money, the people said. Some of them have already claimed possession of the vehicles. Leasing companies are also open to lease the vehicles to other operators.
Companies such as Delhi-based all-electric taxi service
Evera
and Uber-backed
Everest Fleet
have emerged as potential takers for blocks of these cars. While Evera has already taken 300 EVs in its fleet, it is in discussions to lease another 800-1,000 vehicles. Everest Fleet has also been in talks to acquire some of these cars, but hasn't closed a deal yet.
'There is a section of lessors who are in the business of leasing these cars, and they will find takers…but financial institutions like banks that want to recover their money want to sell these vehicles,' a person briefed on the developments said, adding: 'Several small fleet operators are also being approached.'
Multiple lessors including Japan's
Orix Leasing
, Delhi-based Clime Finance, automotive leasing firm SMAS Auto Leasing and Bengaluru-based Shefasteq OPC Pvt Ltd have moved the
Delhi High Court
to prevent BluSmart or its associated entity,
Gensol Engineering
, from creating any third-party rights on the vehicles they had supplied.
'We are busy getting these assets back on the road, and multiple lenders are having discussions with us,' said Nimish Trivedi, cofounder and chief executive of
EV taxi
service Evera. 'We have finalised many agreements and are currently looking at strengthening airport operations with this fleet.'
Everest Fleet said the company is closely working with BluSmart's lenders and is evaluating the health and pricing of these vehicles. "As we look ahead, we will continue to take a measured approach aligned with operational viability and sector wide progress," founder and CEO Siddharth Ladsariya told ET.
When operational, BluSmart had around 8,000 electric cars in its fleet. Close to 5,000 of the vehicles were owned or leased from lessors by
Gensol Engineering
— these were then leased or sub-leased to BluSmart. The ride-hailing company also owned a few hundred EVs.
ET on April 21 reported that Power Finance Corp and
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency
were considering a plan to auction the EVs that the company had acquired by taking loans from the two public sector financial institutions.
The developments follow action by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, which barred BluSmart cofounders Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi from accessing the securities markets over allegations of fund siphoning and document forgery in their solar engineering, procurement and construction firm, Gensol Engineering.
BluSmart and its cofounder Anmol Singh Jaggi did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Depreciating assets
Industry players in the EV sector say unless the parked assets are brought back into operation, they risk losing all value and becoming unusable.
'The situation on the ground remains that, if the batteries are not charged or put to use, and the cars are not driven, their performance will deteriorate and eventually they will become a liability,' a person in the EV space said.
People who are interested in buying these EVs are probably waiting for the prices to drop. 'All the traditional players in Delhi are looking at a value which is probably just 10% of the asset cost,' the person added.
Meanwhile, following the suspension of its operations in April, BluSmart began transitioning into becoming a fleet operator for rival ride-hailing platform
Uber
, ET reported first on April 14.
Prior to the Sebi order, Gensol Engineering had entered into an agreement with Chennai-based
Refex Industries
to sell 2,997 EVs to the latter but the deal was called off on March 28.
According to sources in the know, the deal was called off primarily because of the condition that the EVs must be listed on BluSmart, in addition to the ride-hailing company being non-committal on paying higher lease rentals than it did to Gensol Engineering. Officially, the companies had said at the time that the deal was terminated because of 'evolving commitments'.
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