MBSI to invest Rs. 5,000 crore by 2025-end, says MD Shoji Shiraishi.

Moto Business Service India (MBSI), a vehicle leasing subsidiary of Yamaha Motors, is planning to invest about Rs. 5,000 crore by 2025-end to build an inventory of about 300,000 units, its Managing Director Shoji Shiraishi said recently.

MBSI has 3,300 units in its fleet and it expects to grow up to 9,500 units by the end of this year, Shiraishi told Business Standard in an interview.

To date, MBSI has partnered with 12 companies, including Rapido, Rentelo, Zypp Electric and Fullfily, and leased its units to them or their drivers.

For MBSI, one unit is equivalent to one two-wheeler. A four-wheeler is equivalent to 10 two-wheeler units and a three-wheeler is equivalent to three two-wheeler units for the company.

While MBSI is a subsidiary of Yamaha Motors, it procures vehicles from various auto companies in India. MBSI was established in March 2021 and signed its first partner - bike rental company Royal Brothers - in December 2021.

“MBSI has invested Rs. 50 crore in the market and in order to grow 100 times by 2025-end, we need 100 times the investment,” Shiraishi said.

Shiraishi said about 25 per cent of this investment will be equity inflow while the remaining 75 per cent will be raised through loans – either from local banks or from international institutions.

“We would like to bring this kind of massive investment because the demand is there,” he stated.

By the end of this year, the number of MBSI’s partners - companies that have taken its vehicles on lease - will double to approximately 25, Shiraishi said.

After that, the expansion in the number of partners will depend on how the consolidation happens in the logistics start-up industry and employee transportation industry, he added.

“The requirements are different if you go from city to city, especially in the local service arena. In India, there are many strong local players and very few pan-Indian players,” he said.

He said MBSI is present in six cities right now and it expected to expand to 10 cities by 2022-end.

Around 80 per cent of MBSI’s units have been leased in Bengaluru. The company is starting operations in Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad.

“One is geographic expansion. Another is expansion in the number of partners. Even within Bengaluru, we are negotiating with many more companies,” Shiraishi said, while talking about expansion.

He said MBSI was likely to have 60 per cent two-wheeler EVs, 100 per cent three-wheeler EVs and 50 per cent four-wheeler EVs in its vehicle inventory by the end of 2025."

Why 100 per cent three-wheeler EVs? “Three-wheeler EVs are really fast. Our partners also request three-wheeler EVs,” he said.While most of the units leased by MBSI are new, the company has also started leasing out old ICE two-wheelers to the partners according to their demand, he said.

Old ICE two-wheelers are understandably cheaper, he added.

The company has signed up various workshops to do regular maintenance of its inventory. Eventually, MBSI might have its own maintenance department in a city where it has a large inventory, he stated.

BS