Sarat Kumar, a software engineer at Google, was exhausted and discouraged when he became entangled in a never-ending web of red tape while frantically seeking a bank’s clearance for a Rs 1 lakh loan to realize his ambition of owning the coveted EV startup Ather 450X. “I’ve applied for loans at all the major banks I could think of during the past five months. A month was spent on each loan application cycle. I was required to present a carton’s worth of papers. And I’ve been turned down each time,” he claims.
Despite having a strong credit rating, flawless tax returns, and prompt credit card repayment habits, Kumar experienced heartbreaking disappointment when not one but two public sector banks and two private banks declined to consider his loan application. “One day I was outside one of the banks and I ran into a loan agent. I showed him my application and asked him why I kept getting turned down. Banks simply deny loans for electric scooters, the man remarked. “It has nothing to do with you or the documents.” Given how strongly the government has pushed EVs, that was unexpected, adds Kumar.
After nearly six months of pounding on bank doors, Kumar decided to hunt for private lenders and discovered a few of them online. An Ather 450X arrived at his Bengaluru house in less than three days after he applied for a loan without leaving the comfort of his home. Although Kumar acknowledges that the interest rate may be a little higher than if he had gotten the loan from a conventional bank, he praises the extra benefits offered by the EV startup from which he got the loan a guaranteed buyback in the event that he decides to sell his scooter, the chance to upgrade to a more recent model on the same EMI plan, a less expensive battery when it comes time for a replacement, and discounts from insurers.
