CARS24 explained

CARS24 Services Private Limited
Type:Private
Area Served:India
Thailand
Australia
UAE[1]
Location City:Gurgaon, Haryana
Hq Location Country:India
Revenue: (FY23)
Net Income: (FY23)[2]
Industry:Used cars
Num Employees:6,000+ (2023)
Subsid:Cars24 Financial Services

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]

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. In 2021, the company expanded its operations internationally in several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and Australia.[5]  

The CARS24 platform facilitates the transaction and has an offline presence.[6] 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.[7] In 2019, the company started offering verified used cars where the company offered a buyback guarantee on the vehicles verified by inspection.[8]

The company operates 202 branches across 73 cities in India as of 2019.[9] Apart from its own branches, the company has a tie-up with more than 10,000 channel partners across 230 cities in India.[7] The company touched 150,000 annual car sales in 2019.[10]

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.

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 .[22]

Notes and References

  1. News: Cars24 to reduce burn rate further, target 'sustainable growth' . 31 December 2022 . The Economic Times.
  2. News: Cars24 registered marginal growth in revenues in FY23 . 3 November 2023 . Moneycontrol . 30 October 2023 . en.
  3. News: Gooptu . Biswarup . Cars24 set to pick up $80 million from backers . 10 July 2020 . The Economic Times . 14 May 2019.
  4. News: Mahindra First Choice plans to have 1,300 dealerships by Mar . 10 July 2020 . Outlook India . PTI.
  5. Web site: 2022-01-06. CARS24 Eyes $2 Bn In Revenue By FY23 On Back Of International Expansion, Financing Services. 2022-01-21. Inc42 Media. en-US.
  6. News: Ghaswalla . Amrita Nair . A new turn to used-car sales . 14 July 2020 . The Hindu Business Line . 20 February 2017 . en.
  7. News: Mukul . Jyoti . Used auto startup CARS24 develops vehicle matching app for dealers . 10 July 2020 . Business Standard India . 28 June 2020.
  8. News: Consumers Can now Buy Cars from CARS24 . 10 July 2020 . Business World India . en.
  9. News: The One Who Solves Supply Shall Create The Biggest Auto Company In India Vikram Chopra CARS24 . 10 July 2020 . Business World India . en.
  10. News: Chowdhary . Sudhir . Cars 24: Now buy and sell used cars sans any hassles . 10 July 2020 . The Financial Express . 29 July 2019.
  11. News: Chaudhary . Vikram . Cars24's two-wheeler vertical to be called Cars24 Moto: 200+ bikes, scooters sold post lockdown . 14 July 2020 . The Financial Express . 22 June 2020.
  12. News: CARS24 introduces pre-owned two-wheeler sales on its platform . 10 July 2020 . Outlook India . PTI.
  13. News: Singh . Rajiv . Cover Story: How Covid-19 Has Forced A Clutch Of Startups To Pivot . 10 July 2020 . Forbes India . en.
  14. News: Srinivasan . Supraja . Gooptu . Biswarup . CARS24 tanks up for a Rs 340 crore ride . 10 July 2020 . The Economic Times . 18 July 2018.
  15. News: Gooptu . Biswarup . Cars24 has closed $100 million in Series D funding . 10 July 2020 . The Economic Times . 18 October 2019.
  16. News: MS Dhoni invests in CARS24, roped in as brand ambassador . 10 July 2020 . The Indian Express . PTI . 13 August 2019 . en.
  17. News: Tanwar . Sangeeta . Selling a used car made easy . 10 July 2020 . Business Standard India . 20 July 2017.
  18. News: Cars24 appoints Hypersonic to lead new marketing campaign . 10 July 2020 . ANI News . ANI . en.
  19. Web site: 2022-02-09 . Sunrisers Hyderabad names Cars24 as principal sponsor . 2022-04-25 . SportsMint Media . en-US.
  20. News: Cars 24 gets NBFC licence . 10 July 2020 . The Financial Express . 26 July 2019.
  21. News: New consumer lending business key growth driver: Cars24 . 14 July 2020 . The New Indian Express . 24 September 2019.
  22. News: Mathur . Nandita . Cars24 Financial Services raises ₹10 crore in first debt funding . 10 July 2020 . Livemint . 9 July 2020 . en.