[Funding alert] Zoomcar secures $1.98 M funding from its US parent company
Since January 2019, Zoomcar has secured funds of Rs 70 crore – both equity and debt – from various entities including its US-based parent, Trifecta, Mahindra and others.
Bengaluru-based self driving car rental firm, Zoomcar India secured a fund infusion of Rs 14.14 crore ($1.98 million) from its US-based parent entity, Zoomcar Inc, regulatory filings made with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) showed.
According to the RoC filings, Zoomcar India Private Limited issued 28,484 equity shares of Rs 10 each, at a premium of Rs 4,956 per share.
Since January 2019, Zoomcar has secured about Rs 70 crore – in both equity and debt - from various entities including its US-based parent, Mahindra, Blacksoil Capital, Mahaveer Dwellers, Trifecta and others.
Founded in 2013 by David Back and Greg Moran, the startup is a self-drive rental company. In January 2018, Zoomcar claimed that it had turned EBITDA-profitable in December 2017.
In FY18, it reported a revenue of Rs 158 crore, which is 32 percent higher than the Rs 120 crore it reported in FY17.
Its expenses, which was at Rs 225 crore in FY17 rose to Rs 274 crore for FY18. Additionally, its loss widened by about 10 percent from Rs 105 crore in FY17 to Rs 116 crore in FY18. The company is yet to file its annual returns for FY19 with RoC.
Last month, the company announced a partnership with ticketing and travel portal ixigo which has enabled it to offer its rental services through ixigo's platform.
Shared mobility startups have been gaining traction in India, at a time when country’s millennials have been preferring to use these services without worrying about vehicle loans and EMIs. Zoomcar and Drivezy are tapping these young customers who are fond of the shared economy and prefer an asset-light lifestyle.
Seeing the vast potential, even ride-hailing service platform Ola Cabs, has forayed into self-driven car rental business. Recently the homegrown cab aggregator obtained a licence to launch a self-drive car rental service from the Karnataka State Transport Department.
(Edited by Suman Singh)