Zoomcar, an India-based startup shared mobility platform, will finance 100 Mahindra & Mahindra electric vehicles — a first for its platform — with captive Mahindra Finance.
Zoomcar allows individuals to rent vehicles by the hour, day, or week, similar to ZipCar in the U.S.
“Financing for EVs typically revolves around innovative structuring tied to the residual value,” Zoomcar Chief Executive Greg Moran told Auto Finance News. “Since the battery is the largest component of an EV, it’s important to look at residual value differently than with a standard [internal combustion] engine car.”
To that end, Zoomcar avoided a down payment for the fleet of e2oPlus electric cars, and will make “low” monthly installments to cover interest and principal, Mahesh Babu and his designation is chief executive of Mahindra Electric, told AFN. After a certain period of time, which Babu declined to specify, the long-term cost efficiency of electric vehicles will allow Zoomcar to make a lump-sum payment on the fleet.
Mahindra owns a 16% stake in Zoomcar, since leading a $40 million Series C funding round in February; Zoomcar has received $100 million in total funding to date, according to Crunchbase.
The startup operates a fleet of 3,000 vehicles in 30 cities in India.
