ZestMoney sees huge spike in demand from EV customers in India

In a sign that electric vehicles are gaining traction in India, AI-driven EMI financing platform ZestMoney on Thursday said that it has seen a 500 per cent month-on-month growth in customers opting for its "Buy Now Pay Later" solution for EVs.

The number of EV dealers on ZestMoney's platform have increased from 300 in July to 4,500 in November, the company said.

The demand for electric scooters has increased over the last few months as people want to own a personal vehicle.

With Covid-19 and need for social distancing, people are opting for low-cost electric vehicles to meet their transportation needs.

"The pandemic has augmented the demand for electric vehicles with people wanting to skip public transportation," Lizzie Chapman, CEO and Co-founder at ZestMoney, said in a statement.

"At ZestMoney, we see a massive opportunity in financing for this segment, particularly in smaller towns where customers may not have a past credit record or a traditional credit score."

ZestMoney has observed that Uttar Pradesh contributes 30 per cent to the total business from EV, followed by the states of Bihar, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

The purchases are largely within the age group of 25-35, with 10 per cent of women opting for EV scooters.

Interestingly, EVs are gaining increasing traction in Tier-II, III and IV towns where many new-to-credit customers are opting for the convenience of "Pay Later" solutions, ZestMoney  said, adding that these markets are driving 70-80% of the total demand.

Low Speed scooters that pick-up speed of 25 km/hr and do not need registration with the transport authorities constituted 90 per cent of all the electric two-wheelers sold in FY19-20.

While many traditional financiers are averse to financing the electric scooters which do not have the registration number, ZestMoney has made the Pay Later financing available for this segment of EV.

ZestMoney partners with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) of EVs to finance their vehicles through their dealership network.

The company is associated with over 20 marquee brands in the EV space, including Hero Electric, Revolt, Okinawa, YObykes, Tunwal, BattRE, EeVe India among others.