Cars 24, an online used car buying and selling platform, has announced that it has raised $450 million in a funding round led by DST Global, Falcon Edge Capital and new investor SoftBank Vision Fund. The startup is planning to go public and file for an initial public offering (IPO) soon.
After the new infusion of funds pegged as its largest round of funding, Cars 24 is valued at around $1.84 billion, up from $1 billion in November last year.
Cars 24 plans to use the money to expand into the UAE and Australian markets and build its cars, bikes, and financing business in India while investing in technology.
About Cars 24
Founded by Vikram Chopra, Mehul Agarwal, Ruchit Agarwal and Gajendra Jangid in 2015, Cars 24 recently expanded its services in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia. Within six months of its presence in the UAE, around 1,000 cars have been sold on the platform.
Vikram Chopra, Co-Founder and CEO of, Cars 24 said, “Selling or buying a car has been a tedious process, and only two out of 100 people in India own a car. However, over the last six years, we have been working relentlessly towards fulfilling the dreams of many Indians by transforming the customer journey.”
“With this investment, we will continue to penetrate into existing car, bikes and financing business in India while venturing into new overseas geographies this year,” he added.
The opportunity in the segment
As per a report by Mahindra First Choice Wheels, India’s used car market is estimated to be in the range of 6.7 Mn – 7.2 Mn units per year by 2022. The organised channel market share for pre-owned cars grew from 10 percent to 18 percent between FY11 and FY19.
Rahul Mehta, the Managing Partner at DST Global, said, “Cars 24 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.”
The competition
In 2021, Cars 24’s rival CarTrade floated its initial public offering (IPO) and was listed on the stock exchanges.
Another Cars 24 competitor CarDekho got hit by the pandemic, which may have led to the process of closing down over one-third of its offline Gaadi stores across the country. However, the segment has seen a handful of giant institutional cheques written to some startups over the past year.
For instance, in July, online automobile marketplace Droom Technology said it is raising $200 million in a pre-IPO funding round at a valuation of $1.2 billion, making it hit unicorn status. Droom added that it plans to float an IPO next year.
