TVS Motor Company Ltd. has picked up 48.27% stake in Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan’s start-up ‘DriveX’, a pre-owned two-wheeler platform, for ₹85.41 crore.
The company would buy the stake in NKars Mobility Millennial Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (NMMSPL) which operates under the brand ‘DriveX.’
NMMSPL is engaged in leasing, selling, trading and distributing two-wheeler motorcycles and scooters. TVS Motor would pick up stake by way of primary and secondary investments, the company said in a filing.
“The pre-owned two-wheeler market is growing rapidly and has garnered high levels of investor and customer interest in recent years, driven by digitisation and emergence of start-ups,” TVS Motor said in a statement.
“This investment in DriveX is aimed at enabling innovative solutions to lead this transformation.”
DriveX posted turnover of ₹48 lakh in FY21 and ₹8.68 crore in FY22.
“In the coming years, DriveX will aim to strengthen its presence across India, followed by other geographies in due course. With this investment from TVS Motor Company, we are confident of expanding the DriveX vision, and delivering a pre-owned two-wheeler business that exceeds customer expectations,” said Narain Karthikeyan, founder & CEO, DriveX.
“Narain and his team have built a unique platform that can scale up quickly. 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, MD, TVS Motor Company.
