Sequoia, others pump $11M into India’s self-drive rental startup ZoomCar

Indian self-drive car rental startup ZoomCar today announced that it has secured US$11 million from Sequoia Capital, Empire Angels, and Nokia Growth Partners (NGP). This takes the total funding in the company to date US$23.5 million.

ZoomCar is essentially a clone of ZipCar for the Indian market. It rents out an array of vehicles including luxury sedans like BMWs, hatchbacks like Ford Figos, SUVs like Mahindra Scorpios, and even electric cars like the Mahindra Reva E2O. Besides filling the cars with fuel, the startup also takes care of insurance and roadside assistance so that customers only need to worry about the driving.

Typically, ZoomCar receives bookings for short road travel breaks along the scenic Bangalore-Mysore-Ooty, Mumbai-Pune-Lonavala-Khandala, and Delhi-Agra or Delhi-Chandigarh-Shimla circuits. It has recently launched a Zoom Commute package for office goers who are looking for an economic weekday self-drive option.

The startup claims to have a fleet of 1,500 cars across 250 pickup locations in six cities including Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Chennai, and Hyderabad. With fresh funding, the startup aims to add 7,000 cars and launch in 15 more cities in India.

“Despite adding over 1,000 cars this year alone, we’re still unable to meet the demand for our service with our current strength. This round will allow us to continue our rapid expansion across India both in terms of vehicles and new cities,” Greg Moran, co-founder and CEO of ZoomCar said in a statement.

Going high-tech

At its core, ZoomCar considers itself a tech company with offline fulfillment. It offers a hyper-local service which allows users to find a vehicle in their vicinity. In Bangalore, for instance, it serves several types of locations, including leading business parks, malls, hotels and luxury residential societies.

The app has a “mobilizer” which sends a signal to unlock the car. The user then goes to the parking lot where it’s located. There’s no chauffeur or any other personnel – everything is done online. The app has a camera to scan the user’s license and other documents, required for verification by ZoomCar.

Fuel monitoring is also automated. In addition, all the cars have an engine disabler which kicks in if the user is driving rashly. Other features include in-car navigation, including real-time traffic updates, assistance in locating parking, and location-based service apps.

ZoomCar competes with Carzonrent. However, ZoomCar differentiates itself with its technology. Carzonrent does not have a hyperlocal service and requires users to take a xeroxed copy of the license and collect a car key from their office in the city. ZoomCar, on the other hand, does not require you to physically visit its office as all the processes are app-enabled.