Macquarie : Asset Management launches Vertelo, a new $US 1.5 billion EV fleet solutions platform

Mumbai, 22 April 2024

• Macquarie Asset Management today launched Vertelo, a new fleet electrification solutions platform focused on accelerating large-scale adoption of electric vehicles in India.
• The new platform has received anchor investment from the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Vertelo plans to mobilise $US1.5 billion in the Indian e-mobility ecosystem over 10 years with the aim to achieve a potential lifetime reduction of ~9.5 MtCO₂e of greenhouse gas emissions.
• The new business lends support to India's ambitious electric vehicles target and aligns well with the Indian Government's vision for mobility revolving around the 7 Cs - Common, Connected, Convenient, Congestion-free, Charged, Clean, and Cutting-edge¹

Macquarie Asset Management (MAM), part of Macquarie Group, has launched Vertelo, a new platform providing end-to-end solutions in fleet electrification in India. The company aims to accelerate the transition of fleets to electric vehicles and build a robust EV ecosystem by offering bespoke solutions to customers including leasing and financing, charging infrastructure and energy solutions, fleet management services, and end of vehicle life management.

The new platform has received anchor investment from the Green Climate Fund which has committed to invest up to $US200 million. Overall, Vertelo plans to invest $US1.5 billion over 10 years with the aim to achieve a potential greenhouse gas emissions reduction of ~9.5 MtCO2e.²

The company lends support to India's ambitious vehicle electrification target of achieving 40% electric buses and 70% electric commercial cars by 2030³ and aligns well with the Indian government's vision for mobility in India revolving around the 7 Cs - Common, Connected, Convenient, Congestion-free, Charged, Clean, and Cutting-edge.

As a first step on this journey, Vertelo has signed a long-term lease agreement with Chalo Mobility Pvt Ltd, a leading Indian transport technology company, to supply 44 electric buses manufactured by JBM, a leading electric bus manufacturer in India, to operate in Mumbai. Also, to meet the growing demand of customers, Vertelo has signed agreements with multiple OEMs including JBM and Eka Mobility to buy up to 2,000 electric buses from each partner over the next three to five years and with Tata Motors to buy up to 2,000 electric cars over the next three years.

Abhishek Poddar, India Country Head, Macquarie Group, said: "The transition to electric vehicles will bring significant benefits to India - increasing its energy independence and mitigating the impacts of climate change. Vertelo aims to play a key role in accelerating this transition by making it easy for its customers to realise the benefits of going electric immediately."

Henry Gonzalez, Green Climate Fund Deputy Executive Director, said: "The platform launched today is a big moment for all involved. It has been designed to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles - buses and commercial fleets - by providing affordable leasing and financing solutions. This will help bring costs down, so electric vehicles can be truly competitive, and people can breathe cleaner, safer air across the country. This investment is the Green Climate Fund's first private-sector transport programme in the e-mobility sector, and we are excited to have provided $US200 million equity capital to support India's e-mobility transition."

The new business will be led by Sandeep Gambhir who previously led the automotive leasing, mobility, and nonbank financial businesses for ORIX India for 11 years.

Sandeep Gambhir, Chief Executive Officer, Vertelo, said: "Vertelo aims to become a larger ecosystem player in the EV mobility landscape through its unique and comprehensive offering that covers the entire lifecycle of the underlying assets including upfront capital solution, charging infrastructure, maintenance and energy management, which helps it to partner with large OEMs, fleet operators, and other corporates, and accelerate fleet electrification in India."

Mohit Dubey, Co-Founder and CEO, Chalo, said: "We are happy to partner with Vertelo and JBM to add these 44 Chalo buses in Mumbai, taking our fleet to 100 electric luxury AC buses. This is a significant step for Mumbai where Chalo and BEST have partnered to run a luxury bus service for daily commute. Congratulations to the Vertelo team on their launch. We look forward to a long-term sustainable partnership with them."

Nishant Arya, Vice Chairman, JBM Group, said: "JBM is excited to announce its global strategic partnership with Vertelo to deploy up to 2,000 electric buses over next three to five years, beginning with a sizeable first deployment of 44 electric buses, marking a significant milestone in sustainable mobility. Together, we're shaping the future of zero emission electric public transportation with a commitment to innovation and excellence."

Vertelo is backed by the Green Climate Fund in partnership with Macquarie Asset Management, part of Macquarie Group. Macquarie Group is one of Australia's ten largest companies and has been active in India for over 19 years - it has invested over $US2.5 billion in equity capital into Indian infrastructure.

Macquarie Group has been supporting driving practical climate solutions for almost 20 years, with our first investments in renewables dating back to 2005. Macquarie is working to help commercial fleet operators finance the deployment of clean vehicles and charging infrastructure in the US, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the UK.⁴

Vertelo is helping to redefine transportation for a more sustainable India. Our expertise spans the e-mobility ecosystem and our fleet electrification solutions aim to help accelerate India's low carbon transition. Find out more at www.vertelo.in

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the world's largest dedicated climate fund. GCF's mandate is to foster a paradigm shift towards low emission, climate-resilient development pathways in developing countries.

GCF has over 250 projects, a portfolio of USD 13.9 billion (USD 53 billion including co-financing) delivering transformative climate action in more than 129 developing countries.

GCF also has a readiness support programme that builds capacity and helps countries develop long-term plans to fight climate change.

GCF is an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and serves the 2015 Paris Agreement, supporting the goal of keeping average global temperature rise well below 2°C.

1. https://www.narendramodi.in/pm-modi-inaugurates-the-global-mobility-summit-2018-541388
2. See notes below for methodology.
3. https://jmkresearch.com/electric-vehicles-published-reports/accelerating-transport-electrification-in-india-by-2030/
4. P9, https://www.macquarie.com/assets/macq/perspectives/macquarie-climate-solutions-brochure.pdf

Emission reductions are based on the business plan at the time of the funding proposal, May 2022. As the EV platform entails funding of both electric vehicles (EVs) and EV charging infrastructure, a combination of two existing peer-reviewed methodologies was used to assess the level of GHG emissions reduced by the platform over the implementation period of 10 years. Both the methodologies are based on the core principles of Tier 1 and Tier 2 methods specified under 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, and 2019 IPCC Guidelines Refinement.

Methodology 1, AMS-III.C.: Emission reductions by electric and hybrid vehicles - Version 15.0 is applicable to Electric vehicles (E-buses, electric light commercial vehicles (like electric trucks), two/three and four wheelers). There is a limitation where this methodology can be used only for small scale projects (projects which reduce GHG emissions less than or equal to 60 ktCO₂ equivalent annually), but given no other viable option, this methodology was used.

Methodology 2, VM0038 - Methodology for Electric Vehicle Charging Systems, version 1.0 is applicable to EV charging systems, including their associated infrastructure.

The baseline scenario for computation is defined as the GHG emissions reduced due to the replacement of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles across Indian urban and semi-urban setup by funding comparable electric transportation vehicles (i.e. e-buses, e-cars, e-three wheelers and e-two wheelers.) and funding electric charging infrastructure (ECI) to support the operation of comparable electric vehicle fleets.

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