Ampere Vehicles acquires Noida-based e-rickshaw firm Bestway Agencies with 74 pc stake

Mumbai, Jul 6 () Ampere Vehicles, the electric arm of Greaves Cotton, on Monday announced the acquisition of Noida-based e-rickshaw firm Bestway Agencies (BAPL) with a 74 per cent stake.

Bestway sells e-rickshaws under the ELE brand with a strong B2C presence in the mass market passenger segment.

Through this acquisition, Ampere will expand its presence in this fast disrupting segment to become an integrated last-mile e-mobility player with strong presence in both electric two- and three-wheelers, Ampere vehicles said in a release.

"With the acquisition of Bestway, Ampere has now embarked on a new journey to provide clean, safe and sustainable shared mobility solutions through e-3wheeler and become a leading player in the country's EV ecosystem," said Ampere Vehicles Chairman B V R Subbu.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, the company said.

E-rickshaw is one of the largest and fastest-growing categories of EVs in the country, and Ampere foresees growth in this segment, it said.

In addition to the business-to-customer (B2C) segment, with this acquisition, Ampere will also be able to offer a complete product portfolio to its business-to-business (B2B) customers who have requirements for e-3 wheelers as well for both people and cargo mobility, the company said.

"This acquisition will further strengthen our relationship with the domestic consumer by adding last-mile mobility products and services for uninterrupted journey, enhancing productivity across E-2W and E-3W spectrum," Nagesh Basavanhalli, MD and CEO of Greaves Cotton Ltd and director of Ampere Vehicles, said.

He said combining Ampere's and Bestway's expertise will help in further boosting the company's growth and strengthen market positioning as a leading e-mobility business in India.

The e-3wheeler segment has seen growth acceleration in the past few years and Bestway's ELE e-rickshaw has been one of the top-three brands in this organised segment in the high-growth markets of Eastern India and Eastern UP, the release said. IAS HRS