Self-driving mobility platform, Zoomcar, has raised $40 million in Series C from a group of investors led by conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra. J. Sagar Associates, Advocates and Solicitors, advised Zoomcar on the transaction. Zoomcar plans to use the capital for accelerating its marketplace supply growth, improving its lead within applied IoT technologies, and expanding into additional mobility categories across India, according to a statement.

Greg Moran, founder of Zoomcar said, “Our collaboration with Mahindra dates back to 2013, when we first kicked off in Bengaluru. Most importantly, Mahindra shares Zoomcar’s vision for multi-modal urban mobility and we look forward to leveraging their diverse platform to help accelerate the transformation to a shared, electric mobility future for India.”

Mahindra’s investment is strategic as it is a recognised leader within the SUV and EV segments in the country and Mahindra SUVs already form a majority of Zoomcar’s fleet within that segment. With respect to electric collaborations, Zoomcar recently launched E2O-plus vehicles across Mysore, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. In the coming months, Zoomcar expects to add another 500 + Mahindra E2Os across more than 20 cities across the country. Zoomcar and Mahindra expect to collaborate on electric charging infrastructure to further expand the use cases for EVs.

Zoomcar’s focus on convenience, flexibility, and privacy continue to serve different use cases when compared to other non-self-drive offerings. The company claims to have witnessed robust growth with its ZAP marketplace in 2017 as these vehicles now account for over 25 per cent of its fleet of over 3,000.

Zoomcar had recently introduced ZAP Subscribe, a monthly subscription-based programme for cars to reduce all friction related to obtaining a personal vehicle by dramatically reducing the upfront payment, eliminating documentation, and ensuring instantaneous delivery of the vehicle. Through the ZAP platform, subscribers can reduce their monthly subscription charges by 70 per cent on average, thereby, creating a highly efficient option for accessing a personal vehicle.

Besides, in October 2017, Zoomcar launched PEDL, India’s first dockless cycle sharing service. The service currently operates across 10 cities with a fleet of more than 3,000 cycles. The service completes nearly 15,000 rides per day and partners with leading universities, IT parks, residential societies, Municipal Corporations, and Smart City groups.

Zoomcar expects this fresh funding to help the company hit a subscription base of over 15,000 vehicles on the platform before the end of 2018. The company also expects to dramatically increase its cycle count to meet the robust customer demand. Zoomcar envisions that its PEDL service will operate across more than 75 cities by the year-end.

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