NIIF’s India-Japan fund to invest INR 400 Crore in Mahindra Last Mile Mobility

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), a company involved in automotive, farm, and services sectors, and India-Japan Fund (IJF), a fund managed by National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIF), have entered into a binding agreement for IJF to invest Rs. 400 Crore, at a valuation of up to Rs. 6600 Crore in Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Limited (MLMML). MLMML houses M&M’s last-mile mobility business, including three-wheelers (Alfa, Treo, Zor) and four-wheeler SCV (Jeeto) brands. This investment will result in IJF’s ownership ranging between 6.06% and 8.25% stake in MLMML.

IJF is a fund of INR 4900 Crore (USD 600 Million), with Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) and the Government of India as anchor investors. The fund focuses on investments in environmental sustainability and low carbon emission strategies, while also encouraging investments by Japanese companies into India, fostering collaboration between Indian and Japanese companies. The investment in MLMML marks IJF’s initial investment since its establishment in August 2023.

MLMML, incorporated as a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., began commercial operations in September 2023, following the closure of Asset Transfer and Business Transfer Agreements with M&M. IJF will be joining the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as an investor in MLMML, leveraging the expertise of these investors to facilitate the continued growth of MLMML.

Dr. Anish Shah, Group CEO & MD, Mahindra Group, said, “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.”

“We are excited to announce NIIF’s partnership with Mahindra Group by way of IJF’s investment in Mahindra’s last mile mobility business, reflecting the fund’s commitment to invest in low carbon emission strategy opportunities. The fund’s investment in MLMML not only underlines our 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,” said, Krishna Kumar G, Partner, India Japan Fund, NIIF.

Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director and CEO, Auto & Farm Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra, commented, “MLMML is a pioneer in revolutionizing the electric three-wheeler growth in India, enabling customer prosperity including employment generation and providing sustainable last mile connectivity. It is a market leader in this segment, and 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 microentrepreneurs 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.”

Also read: Mahindra Last Mile receives the first tranche of INR 300 crore from IFC