Publicly listed 2-wheeler maker TVS Motor Company Ltd on Wednesday said that it will acquire 48% stake in DriveX, a two-wheeler startup co-founded by former Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan, for Rs 85.4 crore.
TVS Motor in a statement said that the pre-owned 2-wheeler market is poised to see strong growth and with this investment the company aims to further enable its innovative solutions.
Incorporated in April 2020, DriveX started off as a 2-wheeler subscription platform, providing mobility solutions and since then has expanded to five cities in a short span of time, the company said in a statement. The other founder of the startup is Christopher Sargunam.
“DriveX is a digital first business, serving all brands with analytics-led capabilities across the value chains. In the coming years, DriveX will aim to strengthen its presence across India, followed by other geographies in due course,” said Narain Karthikeyan, founder and chief executive officer of DriveX.
“The pre-owned two-wheeler market is largely unorganized today. DriveX has a vision to bring a change in this segment by building trust, assurance, and transparency through end-to-end, high-quality products and customer experience through innovative solutions,” said Sudarshan Venu, Managing Director, TVS Motor Company.
TVS Motor, which is backed by homegrown private equity firm WestBridge Capital, competes with the likes of Hero MotoCorp Ltd, Bajaj Auto Ltd and the local units of Japan’s Yamaha Motor and Honda Motor.
TVS Motor is also among the handful of traditional manufacturing companies making bets on electric vehicle makers.
In January, TVS Motor has acquired a 75% stake in the Swiss E-Mobility Group for $100 million.
In June, Mint reported that private equity firms TPG Capital and KKR & Co. are in talks with TVS Motor Co. Ltd to invest at least $300 million to fund the expansion of its electric vehicle business.
