Hyundai backs Series B for India's Revv
Hyundai Motor has led a $14.2 million Series B funding round for Revv, an Indian car rental start-up backed by Edelweiss Private Equity.
Hyundai operates a major car factory in India and is the country’s largest exporter in the sector but has yet to enter the domestic car-sharing market. It expects the number of car-sharing vehicles in India to grow from 15,000 currently to 150,000 by 2022.
“[W]e will play a proactive role introducing innovative Hyundai Motor technology that will transform Indian society,” Youngcho Chi, chief innovation officer at Hyundai, said in a statement. “We will invest and form partnerships in various fields, developing a prominent mobility system in the world.”
Founded in 2015, Revv describes itself as India’s fastest-growing self-drive car company, meaning a service by which consumers book cars to drive themselves. Its services include round-trip and one-way rentals, as well as monthly subscriptions and a doorstep delivery offering known as Revv-to-Work.
Edelweiss led a $9 million Series A round for the company in late 2016 that included a debt component provided by Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services and car leasing company LeasePlan India. The goal has been to establish the car-sharing model as a practical alternative to car ownership that can function in conjunction with other services such as ride-sharing.
The partnership with Hyundai will focus on the development of new mobility services and relevant technological competencies, as well as creative marketing activities largely targeted at millennials. Hyundai said that the Indian mobility market was experiencing “exponential growth” and would expand in size from $1.5 billion in 2018 to $2 billion in 2020.
Revv’s most significant competitor is Zoomcar, a similar service founded in 2013 that raised a $40 million round earlier this year with participation from Mahindra & Mahnidra. Zoomcar also raised a $24 million Series B round led by Ford Motor Company in 2016 with support from Sequoia Capital, Nokia Growth Partners and Empire Angels.
More on South Asia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.