Mahindra Electric, a sub-division of the Mahindra Group, has collaborated with Zoomcar, a self-drive car rental company headquartered in Bangalore, to offer 50 e2oPlus electric vehicles in Pune for self-driving as well as renting. The car will be available at Rs 9,999 per month on the ZAP subscribe program of Zoomcar, which assists in renting a car without the hassles of down-payment, service, and insurance. When not in usem, the ZAP program even allows users to rent out these vehicles, allowing car buyers to recover a portion of the monthly cost. The ZAP Program service is being extended to Pune after Mahindra successfully deployed it in Mysuru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, New Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata.
The vehicles were launched in the presence of Dr. Rajendra Jagtap, CEO, Pune Smart City Development Corporation Ltd (PSCDCL). The program intends to facilitate connections, shared, and electric mobility in Pune, in line with the government's 2030 vision.
Mahesh Babu, CEO, Mahindra Electric, speaking at the launch, said, "Mahindra Electric, as the pioneers of electric mobility in the country and Zoomcar, as the leading shared mobility platform, have joined hands to bring electric mobility technology to more and more people. Today, we are proud to extend our association and introduce our EVs on Zoomcar's shared mobility platform in Pune. This initiative comes as one of the first steps after the announcement of Maharashtra's EV policy and we are positive that it will contribute to the state's mission of rapid adoption of EVs."
Greg Moran, Co-Founder and CEO, Zoomcar, said, "We're thrilled to once again partner with Mahindra Electric to bring innovative, green mobility solutions to the people up Pune. First through our PEDL cycle service and now with our electric vehicle launch, Pune continues to demonstrate strong leadership in supporting innovative first and last mile urban mobility solutions."
The e2oPlus electric vehicles are jointly sponsored by Zoomcar and LeasePlan, which is a dutch company specializing in automobile leasing and fleet management. Mahindra Electric sold 1729 units (cars and vans) in June 2018. The brand had sold 824 units in the same month last year. A clear gain of 110 per cent since last year.