CARS24

Cars24
Company typePrivate
IndustryUsed cars
Founded2015; 9 years ago (2015)
Headquarters
Gurgaon, Haryana
,
India
Area served
India
Thailand
Australia
UAE[1]
Key people
  • Vikram Chopra
  • Gajendra Jangid
  • Ruchit Agarwal
  • Mehul Agarwal
Services
  • Car sales
  • Resale Paperwork
  • Loans
  • Driver Services
RevenueIncrease ₹5,535 crore (US$660 million) (FY23)[2]
Decrease ₹−468 crore (US$−56 million) (FY23)[2]
Number of employees
6,000+ (2023)[2]
SubsidiariesCars24 Financial Services
Websitecars24.com

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

History

[edit]

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]

In March 2024, CARS24 launched a new brand AutoPilot to cater to the growing demand of hiring car drivers on demand.[14] With its launch in Gurugram, it soon expanded to Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad. With the launch of AutoPilot, company started offering professional car drivers on an hourly basis. It aims to promote safer roads with driving assistance services and be a partner in the automotive journey of a car owner. It employs and provides a reliable income source for professional drivers.[15]

Funding and endorsements

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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.[16]

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.[17] 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.[18] 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,[19] Mandira Bedi and Nawazuddin Siddiqui have endorsed the company in commercial advertisements.[20]

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.[21]

Subsidiaries

[edit]

The company established Cars24 Financial Services as a subsidiary in 2019.[22] The company received an NBFC license from Reserve Bank of India in July 2019.[23] Cars24 Financial Services provides consumer loan facilities to car dealers and end customers in the used car segment across 50 cities in India.[22] In 2019-20 the company claimed to have disbursed loans worth ₹400 crore (equivalent to ₹497 crore or US$60 million in 2023).[24]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Cars24 to reduce burn rate further, target 'sustainable growth'". The Economic Times. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Cars24 registered marginal growth in revenues in FY23". Moneycontrol. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  3. ^ Gooptu, Biswarup (14 May 2019). "Cars24 set to pick up $80 million from backers". The Economic Times. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Mahindra First Choice plans to have 1,300 dealerships by Mar". Outlook India. PTI. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b Chowdhary, Sudhir (29 July 2019). "Cars 24: Now buy and sell used cars sans any hassles". The Financial Express. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  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. ^ Ghaswalla, Amrita Nair (20 February 2017). "A new turn to used-car sales". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  8. ^ a b Mukul, Jyoti (28 June 2020). "Used auto startup CARS24 develops vehicle matching app for dealers". Business Standard India. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Consumers Can now Buy Cars from CARS24". Business World India. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  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. ^ 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. ^ "CARS24 introduces pre-owned two-wheeler sales on its platform". Outlook India. PTI. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  13. ^ Singh, Rajiv. "Cover Story: How Covid-19 Has Forced A Clutch Of Startups To Pivot". Forbes India. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Cars24's unique driver-on-demand service launched in Gurgaon: How to hire drivers for Rs 150/hour". The Times of India. 29 March 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  15. ^ www.ETAuto.com. "CARS24 launches its driver on demand service - Autopilot - ET Auto". ETAuto.com. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  16. ^ Srinivasan, Supraja; Gooptu, Biswarup (18 July 2018). "CARS24 tanks up for a Rs 340 crore ride". The Economic Times. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  17. ^ Gooptu, Biswarup (18 October 2019). "Cars24 has closed $100 million in Series D funding". The Economic Times. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  18. ^ "MS Dhoni invests in CARS24, roped in as brand ambassador". The Indian Express. PTI. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  19. ^ Tanwar, Sangeeta (20 July 2017). "Selling a used car made easy". Business Standard India. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  20. ^ "Cars24 appoints Hypersonic to lead new marketing campaign". ANI News. ANI. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  21. ^ "Sunrisers Hyderabad names Cars24 as principal sponsor". SportsMint Media. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  22. ^ a b "Cars 24 gets NBFC licence". The Financial Express. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  23. ^ "New consumer lending business key growth driver: Cars24". The New Indian Express. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  24. ^ Mathur, Nandita (9 July 2020). "Cars24 Financial Services raises ₹10 crore in first debt funding". Livemint. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
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