British International Investment, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, has fulfilled its commitment to attract new international investors into India’s electric vehicle industry.
In July 2022, Mahindra and Mahindra and BII announced a partnership to accelerate the availability and adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in India and other markets.
This partnership consisted of an anchor investment into a new EV company, launched by M&M, with BII committing up to INR 1,925 crore to the venture; of which INR 1,200 crore was invested by September 2023.
The partnership also comprised a commitment to work jointly to bring other like-minded investors into EV financing in future.
The next investor to join the partnership was Temasek in 2023.
And today, based on joint assessment with M&M on the funding requirement, BII has completed its 2022 commitment by making a further INR 650 crore investment into Mahindra Electric Automobile Limited (MEAL), as a part of its final tranche.
This investment will be made through its managed vehicle and existing shareholding entity, BII India EV LP, which in turn has been financed by a syndicate of marquee climate-focused investors led by BII. The syndicate includes the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a multilateral development institution, OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I, the first Finnish global emerging markets impact fund and Finnfund, Finland’s development finance institution and impact investor.
The investment does not change the shareholders of MEAL, which remain Mahindra & Mahindra, Temasek, BII and BII India EV LLP.
Samir Abhyankar, Managing Director and Head of Financial Services at BII, said: “An important objective for this investment was to support a clean, green and sustainable economic future for India by backing superior business models in nascent industries. A critical part of that task is to crowd in other investors. Today’s announcement is a fulfilment of that mandate by bringing in three like-minded impact investors and a significant vote of confidence in Mahindra’s EV business and the wider EV sector in India.”
“We are thrilled to be part of this transaction and are confident that our investment will significantly enhance the availability of electric vehicles in India,” said Tuomas Virtala, Head of OP Asset Management.
“This initiative is an important step towards making EVs more accessible in India, and plays a critical role in reducing pollution, particularly in major cities,” said Helena Teppana, Associate Director at Finnfund. “Finnfund’s investments in electric mobility have been strongly driven by the health benefits, which are especially crucial in cities with congested traffic.”
Najeeb Haider, Director General, Project and Corporate Finance Clients, Global at AIIB, said: “This investment is pivotal in supporting India’s ambitious energy transition goals by leveraging electrification to create sustainable EV sector infrastructure in India to assist the country in achieving its climate goals. Our commitment to Mahindra and Mahindra’s EV business through the investment in BII Indian EV LLP underscores AIIB’s dedication to financing sustainable infrastructure and fostering low-carbon solutions in India.”
For more information, please contact [email protected]
About British International Investment
British International Investment is the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor. As a trusted investment partner to businesses in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, BII invests to create productive, sustainable and inclusive economies in our markets. Between 2022-2026, at least 30 per cent of BII’s total new commitments by value will be in climate finance. BII is also a founding member of the 2X Challenge which has raised over $33.6 billion to empower women’s economic development. The company has investments in over 1,580 businesses across 65 countries and total net assets of £8.5 billion. For more information, visit: www.bii.co.uk | watch here. Follow British International Investment on LinkedIn and X.
About Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank whose mission is Financing Infrastructure for Tomorrow in Asia and beyond—infrastructure with sustainability at its core. We began operations in Beijing in 2016 and have since grown to 110 approved members worldwide. We are capitalized at USD100 billion and AAA-rated by the major international credit rating agencies. Collaborating with partners, AIIB meets clients’ needs by unlocking new capital and investing in infrastructure that is green, technology-enabled and promotes regional connectivity. AIIB applies its Policy on the Project-Affected People’s Mechanism (PPM) to BII India EV LLP. Project affected people can get in contact with BII via this link https://www.bii.co.uk/en/contact/, and if they have environmental and social concerns and in cases of misconduct, submit them to AIIB through the notification website File Your Submission – Project-Affected People’s Mechanism (aiib.org).
About OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I
OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I is the first global emerging markets impact fund in Finland. The fund targets significant positive impacts in addition to financial return. The first two rounds of funding have raised a total of EUR 135 million. OP Asset Management Ltd, part of OP Financial Group, one of the largest banking groups in Finland, acts as a portfolio manager for the fund and OP Fund Management Company Ltd acts as an alternative investment fund manager of the fund. Finnfund, a Finnish development financier and impact investor acts as an anchor investor and advisor to the fund.
About Finnfund
Finnfund is a Finnish development financier and impact investor. We build a sustainable future and generate lasting impact by investing in businesses that solve global development challenges. We invest 200–250 million euros in 20–30 companies in developing countries each year. Our focus sectors include renewable energy, sustainable forestry, sustainable agriculture, financial institutions, and digital infrastructure and solutions. Today Finnfund’s investments, commitments, and investment decisions total about 1.23 billion euros, half of them in Africa. The company has 97 employees based in Helsinki and Nairobi. For more information, please visit www.finnfund.fi
