Yet another EV startup is close to pulling its shutters down. Bengaluru-based three-wheeler EV manufacturer Altigreen has halted its manufacturing operations and is at risk of shutting down completely if it fails to secure funding.

Multiple sources familiar with the state of affairs at Altigreen told Inc42, a situation acknowledged by the company’s CEO, Amitabh Saran.

The Reliance-backed startup, which was one of the early moves in the three-wheeler EV manufacturing space, has been hit by a massive fund crunch. With dues mounting, the company is unable to sustain its manufacturing facility and has wound it down.

As per sources, the startup’s manufacturing plant in Malur near Bengaluru has been shut down, and the corporate office remains empty as employees have been told to work from home for the foreseeable future.

After the collapse of EV battery maker Log9, Altigreen’s crisis marks the second major flashpoint in India’s EV space, exposing the shaky foundations beneath many of the sector’s early bets.

Is this a result of the growing maturity in the EV ecosystem, with legacy players now doubling down on the category? Or is this just another startup that banked on VC money for growth without consistency in manufacturing and production quality?

Altigreen’s Many Woes

Inc42 spoke to several Altigreen’s dealers and learnt that while some of the dealers are still operational and offering servicing for the vehicles, several of them have stopped selling Altigreen products.

Employees say they have been more or less furloughed from the company in the interim, as the funding issues are being worked out.

“We have no work currently, as there is no manufacturing happening. Everything has come to a standstill. All we are waiting for is an instruction from the higher management,” said one person aware of the matter to Inc42.

Besides, Inc42 has learnt that the startup hasn’t paid its employee salaries since the beginning of the year. Several employees informed Inc42 that the 12-year-old startup had resorted to pay cuts in 2024, but that didn’t seem to have helped the situation.

As per sources, Altigreen’s senior management has informed the employees that they are going to receive funding next month and their salaries will be cleared. However, sources said that employees are likely to resort to legal action if their pending salaries are not cleared at the earliest.

So what happened to Altigreen, which had raised $40 Mn in its Series A, one of the biggest such rounds in the EV space and had backers like Reliance’s energy arm New Energy, Sixth Sense Ventures, Xponentia Capital and others?

How The Altigreen Story Began…

Founded in 2013 by Amitabh Saran, Shalendra Gupta, Lasse Moklegaard, and John Bangura,........

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