Electric car subscription service Onto has entered administration.
The TransportTech 50 firm, which has raised more than $430 million of investment to date, has failed to secure additional funding from investors.
Based in Warwick, the company has been affected by a drop in the prices of EVs during the first half of this year because its debt is secured against the value of its 7,000-strong fleet.
Founded in 2018 by Rob Jolly and Dannan O’Meachair, Onto enables people to subscribe to an electric car on a monthly contract. The subscriptions, which allow 750 miles a month, are inclusive of public charging via its partners – Shell Recharge, BP Pulse, InstaVolt and Tesla Supercharger – insurance and breakdown cover, without any upfront deposit or long-term commitment.
The sustainable mobility business, which featured on our TransportTech 50 ranking, last year raised £50m in a Series C funding round to consolidate leadership in the UK and expand into Europe, starting with Germany.
That round was led by Legal & General and supported by existing investors Alfvén & Didrikson, Accelerated Digital Ventures, Campden Hill and the family office of Jim O’Neill. Then in January this year, it agreed a new credit funding line of £100m from global investment group CDPQ and independent asset manager Pollen Street.
However L&G is reported to have pulled the plug on any further funding, leading to the administration.
Gavin Maher and Jonathan Lees of Teneo Financial Advisory Ltd have been appointed as joint administrators of Onto Holdings Ltd.
“Onto has suffered from the steep fall in electric vehicle residual value in the first half of 2023, rising interest rates and the squeeze on disposable income and was unable to secure additional funding from its shareholders,” said Maher.
“After entering administration, Onto will continue to serve existing customers as the administrators explore strategic options.”