Cars24, an online platform for selling pre-owned vehicles, has raised $200 million in a Series-E funding round led by DST Global at a post-money valuation of over $1 billion. Existing investors Exor Seeds, Moore Strategic Ventures and Unbound also participated in the funding round.
The company will use the current funding to invest aggressively in technology and product innovation and scale up new business verticals.
With more than 200,000 annual transactions and a 4X increase in website engagement, the company has already surpassed its pre-Covid business level.
“Traditionally, selling or buying cars has been a tiresome process. But, in the past five years, we have strived to transform the customer’s journey the CARS24 way, which is hassle-free, safe and transparent. With this investment, we will continue to innovate our product and bolster our capabilities to provide the best experience for all parties – with sellers getting the best value for their car, and buyers getting to choose from a wide assortment of automobiles,” Vikram Chopra, co-founder and chief executive, said in a statement.
Founded in 2015 by Vikram Chopra, Mehul Agrawal, Ruchit Agarwal and Gajendra Jangid, Cars24 offers hassle-free transacting experience to customers buying or selling pre-owned vehicles (cars and bikes), as well as financing options. The startup competes with the likes of CarDekho, Droom and CarTrade.
DST Global Managing Partner Rahul Mehta said: “CARS24 has pioneered a significantly differentiated experience for the customer and dealer by deeply leveraging data and technology at each step, resulting in world-class operational efficiency and market leadership in the segment. We are very excited to partner with Vikram, Mehul, Ruchit, Gajendra and the entire management team and are looking forward to working together as they continue to deliver tremendous value to the entire ecosystem through first principles of thinking.”
Cars24 recently forayed into the used two-wheelers category and, in less than six months of operations, it has already seen over 3,000 two-wheeler transactions.
CARS24 also acquired an NBFC licence last year for its financing business and is now providing quick and easy loan plans with two-hour disbursements.
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