The Business Bytes
TBB BBUREAU
CHENNAI, AUGUST 24, 2022
TVS Motor Company, one of the leading manufacturers of two-wheelers and three-wheelers globally said on Wednesday that it has acquired 48.27 per cent stake in Narain Karthikeyan’s start-up “DriveX” (NKars Mobility Millennial Solutions Private Limited), a pre-owned two-wheeler platform, for about Rs 85.41 crore.
TVS Motor sees a strong potential in the pre-owned two-wheeler market, which is witnessing a structural shift from the unorganized to the organized sector. The pre-owned two-wheeler market is growing rapidly and has garnered high levels of investor and customer interest in recent years, driven by digitization and emergence of start-ups. This investment in DriveX is aimed at enabling innovative solutions to lead this transformation.
Founded by India’s first Formula 1 ace racing driver Narain Karthikeyan, DriveX is a fully integrated model present across the pre-owned two-wheeler vehicle value chain. This includes all core areas including procurement, refurbishment, and retailing of multi-brand pre-owned two-wheelers. Incorporated in April 2020, DriveX started off as a two-wheeler subscription platform, providing affordable and flexible mobility solutions and has expanded to five cities in a short span of time.
Speaking on the occasion, Narain Karthikeyan, Founder and CEO of DriveX said, “The pre-owned two-wheeler vehicle market is changing rapidly today. DriveX is a digital first business, serving all brands with unique analytics-led capabilities across the value chains. We have also been successful at launching new business models, including the subscription model in the pre-owned two-wheeler segment. 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.”
Announcing the investment, Sudarshan Venu, Managing Director, TVS Motor Company, said, “The pre-owned two-wheeler market is largely unorganized today. It is delightful to see what DriveX has been able to create and deliver in short time. 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. We are confident of DriveX ability to deliver on this vision.”
