Mahindra & Mahindra announced an alliance with Ola on Thursday, under which the utility carmaker will sell 40,000 vehicles to the cab aggregator over the next two years, reported Reuters. Mahindra Group's Chief Executive Officer Anand Mahindra said they expect the tie-up to yield a total revenue of $400 million (Rs 2,661 crore approximately) by 2018. "This is going to completely change the auto industry," said Mahindra.

Experts said carmakers are looking at such deals after drop in sales globally. Angel investor Harshad Lahoti told The Hindu, “The main intent of auto-makers right now would be to improve sales; and for them cab aggregators are a major competition. So it’s better to join hands with them instead of fighting against them.”

In June, Tata Group inked an agreement with Uber after Toyota Motor Corp invested in the company. Ford Motors and other investors pooled in $24 million (Rs 160 crore approximately) in vehicle rental firm Zoomcar. Globally, Volkswagen pumped in $300 million (Rs 1,995 crore approximately) in Gett while General Motors invested in Lyft.