Ford Motors Invests in Zoomcar which fetched a total of $24 million by funding from Ford Smart Mobility, Sequoia Capital, Nokia Growth Partners and Empire Angels
Self driving car rental start up Zoomcar has fetched a total of $24 million funding from various investors in the phase two funding, and the American auto manufacturer company Ford Motors has invested a total of Rs. 160 crore in the start up. Also invested are the other companies like Sequoia Capital, Nokia Growth Partners and Empire Angels, which have been investing in the start up since quite long time ago.
To be precise, the American auto manufacturer’s subsidiary Ford Smart Mobility has invested in Zoomcar. This company focuses on the transportation technologies. Ford Motors have always wanted to make itself as a mobility company rather than just an auto manufacturer. Investing in the growing mobility start up like Zoomcar is just a part of that bigger plant.
Established in 2012, Zoomcar earlier fetched $21 million funding, and now with the second phase of funding it has received a total funding of whooping $45 million. The company has an entire fleet of vehicles, which it gives on rent as self driving vehicles in various cities. It has also launched the Zoomcar Associate Program, which allows the private car owners to give their vehicles on rent.
The Zoomcar has a total of 2,000vehicles comprising both its own fleet and through Zoomcar Associate Program, and it provides service in seven cities which are – Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune. The company also plans to increase its fleet up to 25,000 vehicles and the service to be provided in 25 cities by the end of 2018.
Ford’s association with Zoomcar is nothing new, as earlier he American auto major has been the largest vehicles provider to the start up since back in 2013. The Zoomcar CEO Mr. Greg Moran believes, the association with Ford Motor Company will help the start up to grow faster, and he also believes, that the American auto major will stay beside them in future.