Zoomcar raises $40 million in Series C from Mahindra, others

BENGALURU: Self-drive car rental start-up Zoomcar India Pvt. has raised $40 million in a Series C funding round led by automobile maker Mahindra & Mahindra, the company said in a statement on Friday.

Existing investors, including Ford, Sequoia Capital, Empire Angels, Nokia Growth Partners and others also participated in the round.

Zoomcar’s will use the fresh capital primarily for accelerating its marketplace supply growth, improving its IoT (internet of things) technology capability, and for expanding across India. The company lets users book vehicles and make the payments online. Users will have to locate a Zoomcar car lot within their locality to pick up the vehicle. It also offers doorstep delivery of the rented car.

The company had also launched an associate programme in April 2016, which allowed people to lease their own cars to its platform under a revenue-sharing model. Zoomcar charges a 25% commission on revenue that its associates make.

Mint reported in November that Zoomcar was in talks to raise money from new and existing investors. It was also running an electric vehicle pilot in Mysore through a tie-up with Mahindra & Mahindra. It plans to launch around 500 more electric vehicles across 20 cities in the coming months. The firm had raised $24 million in Series B round in August 2016 led by Ford Smart Mobility Llc, and another $21 million in two tranches between October 2014 and July 2015, from Sequoia Capital, Empire Angels, T V Mohandas Pai, among others. This takes Zoomcar’s total funding till date to $85 million.