NIIF's India-Japan Fund to invest ₹400 cr in Mahindra Last Mile Mobility

Automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) and India-Japan Fund, a fund managed by National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIF), have executed a binding agreement for IJF to invest ₹400 crore in Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Ltd, which houses M&M's last-mile mobility business including three wheelers (Alfa, Treo, Zor) and four-wheeler SCV (Jeeto) brands.

IJF will invest ₹400 crore at a valuation of up to ₹6,600 crore, resulting in IJF’s ownership ranging between 6.06% and 8.25% stake in Mahindra Last Mile Mobility.

The investment in Mahindra Last Mile Mobility will be IJF's first investment after the fund was set up in August 2023.

IJF is a ₹4,900 crore ($600 million) fund, with Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) and Government of India as anchor investors. The fund focuses on investing in environmental sustainability and low carbon emission strategies, while also promoting investments by Japanese companies into India, including collaboration between Indian and Japanese companies.

IJF will join the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as an investor in MLMML.

The wealth of expertise of these marquee investors will be leveraged to drive the continued growth of Mahindra Last Mile Mobility, the automaker says.

MLMML was incorporated as a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and commenced commercial operations in September 2023.

“We are delighted to have NIIF as a partner in our last mile mobility journey through IJF. At Mahindra Group, we are committed to developing sustainable mobility solutions that help in accelerating the decarbonization of the transport sector. The robustness of our business model has attracted marquee investors such as IFC in the past and now IJF, which will help us move closer to our mission to be ‘Planet Positive’ by 2040,” says Anish Shah, Group CEO & MD, Mahindra Group.

Mahindra Last Mile Mobility was awarded the first automotive Production Linked Incentive (PLI) certificate. "The large-scale electricifcation of the last mile mobility segment holds tremendous promise as it offers profitable solutions to micro-entrepreneurs and all our efforts are directed towards increasing penetration and adoption. We welcome IJF in this journey as we work towards growing the market at scale through technology and sustainable solutions,” says Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director and CEO, Auto & Farm Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra.

Commenting on the development, Krishna Kumar G, partner, India Japan Fund, NIIF, says the fund’s investment in MLMML not only underlines the dedication to promoting sustainable and innovative mobility solutions, but also strengthens partnership between India and Japan in high-growth sectors. "Together with our partners JBIC, we believe that our investment in MLMML should yield transformative results in the last-mile mobility domain, driving economic growth, generating employment and ensuring environmental sustainability,” Kumar says.