In a bid to make buying of electric two-wheelers easy, Benling India Energy and Technology, an electric two-wheeler company, has announced partnerships with key NBFCs (Non-Banking Financial Companies) like HDB Financial Services, ICICI Bank and IDFC Bank.
These financing platforms will offer transparent credit to potential customers for purchasing Benling India electric scooters. The partnership will offer low-interest credit/EMI options, as these NBFCs almost provide priority sector recognition for retail lending in the electric mobility ecosystem.
For the record, Benling sells high-speed model Aura, and low-speed models Falcon and Kriti. All the models are priced below Rs one lakh threshold. Benling is at the 10th position in all-India sales, as per the numbers released for April. It sold 820 vehicles last month.
Benling to focus on small cities and towns
Earlier, Benling India had partnered with Manappuram Finance, Bajaj Finserv, LiquiLoans, LoanTap to provide varied financing options to customers.
Benling, in a statement, said customers can book any Benling electric scooter from the nearest dealer located across 22 States and 160 cities. They can complete the KYC formalities and avail the financing options. "People without credit cards or a CIBIL score can also apply and avail loan for purchasing the scooter, where they have the option to select EMI tenure of three, six and 12 months for repayments," the company added. The vehicle can be delivered within 1 to 7 days time to the customer compared to financing by other banks which can take up to 6 weeks.
Amit Kumar, CEO and ED, Benling India, said: "India bought more electric vehicles last year than what was purchased collectively in the past 15 years. We too registered a stunning growth ending the year selling more than 45,000 units. We plan to capture 9% of market share by expanding to 50 more cities in the current fiscal."
Talking about the partnerships with finance companies, he said they would help it overcome multiple barriers in the E2W financing space in a structured manner. Benling hopes to sell 70% of its electric vehicle models through the financing route. "This move will certainly fast-track the adoption of Benling India vehicles among the unbanked and underserved individuals in India."
A lot of EVs are being purchased in very small towns (Tier 2, 3 and 4), where there is very limited supply of credit. While most of these towns are served by banks, not all banks finance E2W.
Benling India manufactures electric two wheelers at Manesar, Haryana since 2018 in technical collaboration with Japan’s Zhushi Clubs. Benling EVs come with a wide range of colour options and 3 years of warranty on battery. With 100% localisation in manufacturing, Benling high-speed models are ARAI/ICAT certified.
It may be recalled that the government think-tank Niti Aayog has given a proposal to bring institutional lending to purchase electric vehicles under the priority sector ambit. Simply put, this means banks loans for buying electric vehicles could become cheaper. As of now, the loans are extended under auto retail category --- among the high interest categories in India.
