Mahindra to invest in Zoomcar

The domestic carmaker will invest around Rs 176 crore in US-based Zoomcar car rental company.

Mahindra & Mahindra has announced that it would be investing in Zoomcar India Private Limited and in Zoomcar Inc, its US incorporated holding parent company.

This investment will be done in keeping with Mahindra’s thrust on the shared mobility business. Under the aegis of the deal, Mahindra Group would invest up to Rs 176 crore in Zoomcar which, on an as converted to common stock of Zoomcar Inc on a fully diluted basis, would constitute approximately 16 per cent stake in the company.

Mahindra claims that it has been keen to invest in the shared mobility space as a part of its strategy to promote and participate in sustainable mobility solutions, including multimodal urban mobility. To that end, Mahindra has been promoting EVs along with the promotion of shared mobility. This investment in India’s leading self-drive shared mobility company will enable the company to further its objectives in this area.

Speaking on the development, Dr Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra said, “At Mahindra, we are playing a pioneering role in the shared mobility business and are looking forward to an impetus in it through this investment in Zoomcar. We are confident that this partnership with Zoomcar will help further our vision to transform mobility in the country, thereby creating a more connected ecosystem”.

Earlier in 2017, Mahindra and Zoomcar announced a partnership to introduce EVs into the shared mobility space. Zoomcar recently launched Mahindra e2oPlus electric vehicles across Mysore, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Going forward, it expects to add another 500+ Mahindra EVs across more than 20 cities pan-India in the first half of 2018.