Ford Leads Major Investment In Car Rental Start-Up, Zoomcar

  • Aug 25, 2016
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This is Ford's first such investment in an India-based company. The American carmaker is also the largest supplier of vehicles for Zoomcar.

Zoomcar Logo

Zoomcar is a self-drive car-rental company headquartered in Bengaluru. It caters to the people’s need for cars that they want to drive themselves within the city or outstation. Zoomcar’s competition comprises companies like Carzonrent, JustRide and Myles, which, just like Zoomcar, have a presence in multiple cities.

Ford Smart Mobility, a subsidiary of the American automotive giant, Ford, has now led a $24 million (approximately Rs 160 crore) investment in the Bengaluru-based car-rental company. Existing investors for Zoomcar are Sequoia Capital, Empire Angels and Nokia Growth Partners (NGP).

Speaking about the development, Greg Moran, co-founder and CEO, Zoomcar, is reported to have said: "We first got in touch with Ford (for the latest funding) as they were our OEM (original equipment manufacturer) partners since 2013, and they have known us for longer than the other investors." The car-rental company raised $11 million (approximately Rs 74 crore) from Sequoia and Nokia last year.

Ford Smart Mobility

"We are at an inflection point. Currently, we have 2,000 cars with a presence in seven cities. We are planning to launch in Kolkata soon and go to more tier-2 cities and penetrate deeper in existing cities," said Moran, who shifted from New York to Bengaluru in 2013 to start Zoomcar.

John Larsen, mobility director, Ford Asia Pacific, said that as Ford expands its business to be both an auto and mobility company, It is pursuing a long-term vision to instate services and solutions that make it trouble-free for consumers to move through cities using multiple means of transportation.

Moran said that Zoomcar became profitable on an EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization) basis this year with decent margins. He added that he wants to keep the company lean and stay clear of over-hiring. Currently, Zoomcar has a team of 160 employees - a number that, as per the CEO, will not change much.

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