India-based car rental service Zoomcar has raised $40m in a series C round led by automotive manufacturing conglomerate Mahindra and Mahindra, the Economic Times reported on Friday.
Existing investors also participated in the round, according to the report, which identified Nokia Growth Partners (NGP), the corporate venturing arm of communications technology producer Nokia, as well as Sequoia Capital and Empire Angels.
Mahindra paid $27.3m for a 16% stake in the business, investing in Zoomcar’s US holding company through its Mahindra Overseas Investment Company vehicle.
Founded in 2012, Zoomcar operates a platform enabling users to rent vehicles that they can drive throughout India, though the cars need to be returned to the original location. Its fleet currently consists of more than 2,200 cars, with users completing more than 2,000 trips per day.
The company offers round-the-clock roadside assistance through a network of partners, while pricing includes fuel cost and damage insurance.
Zoomcar has also introduced a bike sharing service called Pedl and a peer-to-peer car sharing platform for users called Zoomcar Associate Program (ZAP), which it aims to grow to more than 15,000 cars by the end of 2018.
The cash will also help the company expand Pedl to more than 75 cities over the course of this year, up from a current 30 markets.
Mahindra’s investment follows a partnership that has enabled Zoomcar to deploy electric vehicles produced by the corporate across the cities of Mysore, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Zoomcar had previously secured approximately $47m in equity and debt financing, most recently raising $24m in a 2016 round led by automotive manufacturer Ford’s Smart Mobility unit.
NGP and Reliance Venture Asset Management, the venture capital arm of conglomerate Reliance Group, also took part in the 2016 round alongside Sequoia Capital, while NGP had already backed an $11m series B round in 2015 alongside Sequoia and Empire Angels.