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Business Standard

Next stop for BluSmart's electric vehicles could be Everest Fleet

Everest Fleet, one of the largest fleet partners in India for cab-hailing firm Uber, is in discussions with some lenders to take possession of cars previously operated by the now-defunct cab booking service BluSmart. While the final number of electric vehicles (EVs) to be procured is yet to be determined, the company said the decision will depend on the quality and pricing of the available fleet. Once the possession is complete, all cars will run under Uber Green, the platform's dedicated EV cab service. 'We are talking about it. We are engaging with a few lenders of BluSmart for their cars, but we have not closed the deal. There are a lot of small lenders and big ones. So, all of them have approached us in various forms,' said Siddharth Ladsariya, founder and chief executive officer of Everest Fleet. On the company's intake capacity, Ladsariya said, 'We can absorb quite a few, but the pricing should be right. We have not decided on the quantum yet.' The development comes a week after Delhi-based electric cab service firm Evera Cabs said it has started the process of onboarding 500 EVs, which were earlier running on BluSmart. However, unlike Evera Cabs, which has taken these cars on lease, Everest Fleet plans to purchase the assets. Everest Fleet currently has a fleet size of 20,500 cars, of which nearly 2,000 are EVs. The additional vehicles it plans to acquire will be integrated into Uber. Earlier, as part of the plan to revive operations at BluSmart, Uber was reportedly in talks with the beleaguered cab-hailing firm. Under this plan, BluSmart was supposed to act as a fleet partner for the company; however, the talks never materialised, according to media reports. Uber is also an investor in Everest Fleet. According to data from the market intelligence platform Tracxn, in September 2024, Uber invested $30 million in a Series C round and made another investment earlier in May 2023 in a Series B round. 'Uber invested in two rounds. In the last round, it invested $30 million, and in the round before that, it invested $10 million,' Ladsariya added.