CARS24

CARS24

CARS24

Online used car marketplace

CARS24 is an Indian multinational online used car marketplace headquartered in Gurgaon.[3] The company is considered among the four major organised players in the used car segment in India.[4]

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History

CARS24 was founded in 2015 by Vikram Chopra, Mehul Agrawal, Gajendra Jangid and Ruchit Agarwal as a platform to buy and sell used cars.[5] In 2021, the company expanded its operations internationally in several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and Australia.[6]  

The CARS24 platform facilitates the transaction and has an offline presence.[7] Apart from selling used cars, the company's services include paperwork such as transferring the car to the name of the new owner which enables end-to-end transactions and offers an online auction platform to businesses looking to sell their pre-owned cars.[8] In 2019, the company started offering verified used cars where the company offered a buyback guarantee on the vehicles verified by inspection.[9]

The company operates 202 branches across 73 cities in India as of 2019.[10] Apart from its own branches, the company has a tie-up with more than 10,000 channel partners across 230 cities in India.[8] The company touched 150,000 annual car sales in 2019.[5]

Old logo of CARS24

In May 2020, the company launched CARS24 Moto.[11] Cars24 Moto is a service which allows customers to sell used two-wheelers such as motorbikes, mopeds and scooters on its platform. It also launched a service offering vehicles inspection services at the customers location in place of their branch.[12][13]

Funding and endorsements

CARS24 raised US$50 million in Series A and Series B rounds combined. In 2018, it raised a further US$50 million in Series C round of funding.[14]

CARS24 raised US$100 million in a Series D round of funding in 2019. Investors in the company include Sequoia Capital, Exor Seeds, partners of DST Global, Kingsway Capital, KCK and Unbound and Moore Strategic Ventures.[15] As a part of the series D round of funding, the company received an investment from cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who simultaneously became the company's brand ambassador.[16] Cars24 raised US$200 million in Series E round of funding in 2020 and became a unicorn startup as it was valued at over a $1 billion.[citation needed]

Apart from Dhoni, actors Boman Irani,[17] Mandira Bedi and Nawazuddin Siddiqui have endorsed the company in commercial advertisements.[18]

Cars24 became the primary and front-of-shirt sponsor of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for 2022 Indian Premier League. Cars24's sponsorship of SRH marks the first time that a company from the second-hand cars category has sponsored an IPL team.[19]

Subsidiaries

The company established Cars24 Financial Services as a subsidiary in 2019.[20] The company received an NBFC license from Reserve Bank of India in July 2019.[21] Cars24 Financial Services provides consumer loan facilities to car dealers and end customers in the used car segment across 50 cities in India.[20] In 2019-20 the company claimed to have disbursed loans worth ₹400 crore (equivalent to ₹497 crore or US$60 million in 2023).[22]

References

  1. [1]
    "Cars24 to reduce burn rate further, target 'sustainable growth'". The Economic Times. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  2. [2]
    "Cars24 registered marginal growth in revenues in FY23". Moneycontrol. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  3. [3]
    Gooptu, Biswarup (14 May 2019). "Cars24 set to pick up $80 million from backers". The Economic Times. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  4. [4]
    "Mahindra First Choice plans to have 1,300 dealerships by Mar". Outlook India. PTI. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  5. [5]
    Chowdhary, Sudhir (29 July 2019). "Cars 24: Now buy and sell used cars sans any hassles". The Financial Express. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  6. [6]
    "CARS24 Eyes $2 Bn In Revenue By FY23 On Back Of International Expansion, Financing Services". Inc42 Media. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  7. [7]
    Ghaswalla, Amrita Nair (20 February 2017). "A new turn to used-car sales". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  8. [8]
    Mukul, Jyoti (28 June 2020). "Used auto startup CARS24 develops vehicle matching app for dealers". Business Standard India. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  9. [9]
    "Consumers Can now Buy Cars from CARS24". Business World India. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  10. [10]
    "The One Who Solves Supply Shall Create The Biggest Auto Company In India Vikram Chopra CARS24". Business World India. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  11. [11]
    Chaudhary, Vikram (22 June 2020). "Cars24's two-wheeler vertical to be called Cars24 Moto: 200+ bikes, scooters sold post lockdown". The Financial Express. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  12. [12]
    "CARS24 introduces pre-owned two-wheeler sales on its platform". Outlook India. PTI. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  13. [13]
    Singh, Rajiv. "Cover Story: How Covid-19 Has Forced A Clutch Of Startups To Pivot". Forbes India. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  14. [14]
    Srinivasan, Supraja; Gooptu, Biswarup (18 July 2018). "CARS24 tanks up for a Rs 340 crore ride". The Economic Times. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  15. [15]
    Gooptu, Biswarup (18 October 2019). "Cars24 has closed $100 million in Series D funding". The Economic Times. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  16. [16]
    "MS Dhoni invests in CARS24, roped in as brand ambassador". The Indian Express. PTI. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  17. [17]
    Tanwar, Sangeeta (20 July 2017). "Selling a used car made easy". Business Standard India. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  18. [18]
    "Cars24 appoints Hypersonic to lead new marketing campaign". ANI News. ANI. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  19. [19]
    "Sunrisers Hyderabad names Cars24 as principal sponsor". SportsMint Media. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  20. [20]
    "Cars 24 gets NBFC licence". The Financial Express. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  21. [21]
    "New consumer lending business key growth driver: Cars24". The New Indian Express. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  22. [22]
    Mathur, Nandita (9 July 2020). "Cars24 Financial Services raises ₹10 crore in first debt funding". Livemint. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
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