Vietnamese smart mobility firm Selex Motors JSC raises $2m, to ramp up in-house vehicle production

Vietnamese smart mobility startup Selex Motors JSC announced raising $2.1 million in its seed funding round led by Touchstone Partners.

ADB Ventures, the Asian Development Bank’s venture capital arm, and Nextrans, a Korean venture capital firm, also participated in the latest round of funding.

Selex plans to use the fresh capital to grow its research and development activities, increase its in-house manufacturing capability for vehicles and battery packs at its new factory in the Hanoi area, and begin deployment with early customers, according to a news release.

The company also wants to expand into other Southeast Asian countries now that its new production plant is up and running.

CEO Nguyen Nguyen, Chief Mechanical Engineer Hai Nguyen, and Chief Software Engineer Quang Nguyen launched Selex in 2018. It has developed and manufactured smart electric motorcycles (EMs), battery packs, and swapping systems using patented technology.

With its ecologically friendly and cost-effective solutions, the firm targets the neglected B2B market (especially last-mile deliveries for the logistics sector).

The EMs, which were designed specifically for the logistics industry, can move bigger and bulkier loads than passenger bikes modified for the purpose. To boost efficiency, even more, they’re outfitted with exclusive IoT technologies and sophisticated fleet management features.

Selex claims that their products are competitively priced and that they help customers save money, including 50% on maintenance and 25% on gasoline.

For delivery giants like Viettel Post (a large parcel courier in Vietnam) and Lazada Logistics, the company has electrified delivery vehicles and set up battery swap points (a logistics arm of e-commerce giant Lazada).

Vietnam has almost 50 million motorcycles, according to the National Traffic Safety Committee. It is recognized as the world’s fourth-largest motorcycle market (behind China, India, and Indonesia).

“There are few larger or more urgent challenges facing the world today than climate change, and Selex has identified an unserved and growing market where it can make an impact,” said Tu Ngo, general partner at Touchstone Partners.