Uber RTR468Z4
An illustration picture shows the logo of car-sharing service app Uber on a smartphone next to the picture of an official German taxi sign in Frankfurt, September 15, 2014. The company has faced regulatory scrutiny and court injunctions from its early days, even as it has expanded rapidly into roughly 150 cities around the world. Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach

Uber Inc., the California cab-hailing app company, whose vehicle finance program in the U.S. has led to speculation about links to subprime auto loans, has teamed up with lenders in India to offer car loans to its “partner drivers” in the country.

“We have partnered with top lending companies like Shriram Finance, AU Financiers and Toyota Financial Services and have created vehicle financing schemes with low downpayment (as low as INR 60,000), superior finance rates and faster turn-around time, exclusive to Uber,” the company said in a blog post on its website on Nov. 9.

“We’ve also worked out exclusive discounts on vehicles" with auto Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd., Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp., Uber said.

Two of Uber’s vehicle finance partners in the U.S. -- GM Finance and Santander Consumer USA -- have been subpoenaed in a Department of Justice investigation into subprime auto loans, ValleyWag reported on Nov. 4. The subpoenas, however, do not relate to the lenders’ relationship with Uber, the blog added.

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