What the business is
Delhi-based electric vehicle startup that sells EVs in several categories and started retail deliveries in 2023
The bet
Trimming about 10% of staff while growing toward 5,000 units this fiscal year can bring costs in line after a loss-heavy FY22
Starting capital
$60 million Series C in October 2022 led by GIC Singapore, with Blume Ventures, Athera Venture Partners, QRG Holdings, ADB Ventures and Moglix
How it started
Euler Motors, a Delhi-based EV startup, raised a $60M Series C in October 2022 led by GIC Singapore. CEO Saurav Kumar had told Entrackr the company planned to lift production capacity to 1,000 units a month in the next fiscal year; retail deliveries began in 2023.
What happened
In FY22 gross revenue grew to Rs 17.6 crore from Rs 11 crore, but losses rose nearly 90% to Rs 36.3 crore from Rs 19.14 crore. Employee benefits more than doubled to Rs 12.37 crore and material costs rose 2.8 times to Rs 9.95 crore, with operating cash outflow of Rs 68.5 crore. In April 2023 the company laid off about 10% of its workforce, with a spokesperson citing restructuring.
How it ended up
A spokesperson said all affected employees got appropriate severance and support, and that the company still had year-on-year growth and a strong order book. Entrackr said the effect of the cuts would be judged when Euler filed FY23 numbers.
What has to be true
FY22 losses rose nearly 90% to Rs 36.3 crore while revenue rose 60%
Employee costs more than doubled to Rs 12.37 crore and material costs rose 2.8x
Funding was scarce across startups, which were trimming costs to reach profitability
The company had set a target of about 5,000 units for the year and needed spending discipline to reach it
What can be applied
A large round did not shield an early EV maker from cost cuts when unit economics were still deeply negative: Euler spent Rs 3.22 to earn each rupee of operating income in FY22.
Aftermath
As of 2023-04-11 Euler said it had cut about 10% of staff with severance, kept year-on-year growth and a strong order book. Whether the cuts worked would only show in its FY23 filings; Entrackr did not report any outcome beyond the announcement.
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