Used vehicle platform CARS24 raises USD 450 mn at USD 1.84 bn valuation

CARS24 on Monday said it has raised USD 450 million (about Rs 3,321.3 crore) in funding from DST Global, Falcon Edge, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and others, helping the pre-owned vehicles’ e-commerce platform nearly double its valuation to USD 1.84 billion. The series F round of funding was a mix of equity (USD 340 million) and debt (USD 110 million), a statement said.

The equity round was led by DST Global, Falcon Edge and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 along with participation from Tencent and existing investors, Moore Strategic Ventures and Exor Seeds, it added. The debt funding came from diversified financial institutions. “With the latest investment, CARS24 will expand its global presence as well as further build its cars, bikes and financing business in India, while continuing to invest in technology that delivers the best customer experience possible,” the statement said.

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CARS24 has clocked more than 13 million monthly traffic and over 4 lakh transactions till date. It has also procured a non-banking financial company (NBFC) license and launched consumer lending business with CARS24 Financial Services and two-wheeler segment, BIKES24. It is backed by marquee investors like Sequoia India, SoftBank, Falcon Edge, Exor Seeds, DST Global, Kingsway Capital, Unbound, Moore Strategic Ventures and KCK. The company has previously raised close to USD 400 million, including USD 200 million in series E round announced in November last year.

Vikram Chopra, co-founder and CEO of CARS24 said the six-year old company has closed “its largest round of funding to date”. “Traditionally, car selling or buying have been a tiresome process, and only 2 of 100 people own cars in India. However, over the last six years, we have been working continuously towards fulfilling the dreams of many Indians to own a car by transforming the customer’s journey- ‘the CARS24 way’ that is hassle-free, safe and transparent,” he said.

With this investment, CARS24 will continue to penetrate into existing car, bikes and financing business in India while venturing into new overseas geographies this year, he added. The funding comes just months after CARS24’s expansion into the UAE and Australian markets. The company has already sold over 1,000 cars in the UAE since the launch of its operations in April this year.

CARS24 also officially announced its launch with a new campaign last week in Australia. Rahul Mehta, Managing Partner at DST Global, said CARS24 is at the forefront of transforming the way consumers buy and sell cars by providing a unique end-to-end digital shopping and transaction experience. “They have emerged as the undisputed leader in the used car space in India and early traction in international markets is exceeding expectations. We love backing founders who are bold and ambitious thinkers and couldn’t be more excited to enter the second innings of our long-lasting partnership with CARS24, Mehta added.

Munish Varma, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said CARS24 is building a data-enabled tech platform that is organising the fragmented used car market in India.