Canadian automotive parts giant Magna International is doubling down on battery swapping technology in India with a $35 million investment in Yuma Energy, a Bengaluru-based company that operates a battery-swapping network for electric two- and three-wheelers. The investment increases Magna’s stake in the joint venture from 51 percent, while Yulu’s 49 percent stake will be diluted as a result. The new ownership split was not disclosed.
Yuma Energy, which spun out of Indian mobility startup Yulu in early 2023, has already completed more than 60 million battery swaps and currently has about 100,000 batteries deployed across its network. The company operates more than 400 stations with over 2,500 charging units across 18 Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Coimbatore, Kochi, and Kolkata.
This latest investment follows Magna’s initial commitment of $77 million to Yulu and Yuma in 2022, with $25 million going to Yulu and $52 million to the battery-swapping joint venture. Yulu and Yuma represent Magna’s only startup investments in India, making this a significant strategic bet on the country’s electric vehicle infrastructure market.
The business model focuses on India’s rapidly growing gig economy, where delivery riders and fleet operators face a critical trade-off between vehicle uptime and charging time. Battery swaps can be completed in under two minutes, compared to 20 to 30 minutes for fast charging. This speed advantage is particularly valuable for high-mileage gig workers who lose revenue during charging downtime. However, only about 10 to 15 percent of vehicles used by gig workers in India are currently electric, suggesting substantial room for growth.
Yuma ended its financial year in March 2026 with approximately ₹1 billion in revenue, equivalent to about $10.5 million. The company is not yet profitable overall, though managing director Muthu Subramanian indicated that some of its older swapping stations are already EBITDA-positive. The firm is targeting EBITDA break-even within the next two quarters.
The company plans to use the bulk of Magna’s investment to expand its swapping infrastructure and double its fleet of approximately 100,000 batteries over the next 12 to 18 months. Expansion plans include entering Chennai and Pune in the coming quarters while adding more stations in cities where it already operates.
While Yulu still accounts for the vast majority of Yuma’s 60 million lifetime swaps, the customer base is diversifying. About 15 to 20 percent of swaps in the latest quarter came from non-Yulu customers. Yuma now serves more than five fleets beyond Yulu and has integrated its batteries with more than 10 vehicle platforms, including models from Kinetic Green, Motovolt, BGauss, and Quantum Energy. The company expects non-Yulu customers to account for about 25 percent of its swaps within the next two years.
Unlike operators that only run swapping networks, Yuma designs and manufactures its own battery packs and charging units, making battery packs at its facility in Chennai and charging units in Bengaluru. This vertical integration gives the company control over both the hardware and the network management systems.
India will remain Yuma’s focus for at least the next 12 to 18 months. However, the company has identified potential international expansion opportunities in Southeast Asian markets including Vietnam and Thailand, as well as parts of Africa, due to their large two-wheeler markets, though no formal discussions about entering these markets have begun. Earlier in August 2026, Yulu raised $93 million to grow its electric two-wheeler fleet, creating additional demand for Yuma’s expanding battery-swapping network.
