There are many agencies that sell used cars or second-hand cars. In Kerala, such ventures have always proved profitable. It is one such startup that hit the $1 billion valuation and became the latest Unicorn startup in India. Gurgaon-based used car website Cars24 is the new star startup.
The business of Cars24 grew considerably ever since the public transportation halted due to the COVID lockdown. The startup’s second-hand vehicle platform gained traction during that time.
Cars 24 was launched in 2015 by Vikram Chopra, a former investment analyst at Sequoia Capital. The inspiration to start Cars 24 was the delay he faced to sell his car when he temporarily moved to the US. Chopra says Cars 24 organises safe, hassle-free and transparent transactions with the customers. Its credibility among customers has also contributed to growth. Besides, Cars 24 benefited from the spike in the number of people buying pre-owned cars instead of new ones. According to the IndianBlueBook, if the sale of new cars in the country in 2018-19 was 3.6 million units, the sale of the used car hit 4 million.
The company achieved a 20% growth in the pre-lockdown level. Cars24 says that its annual transactions currently exceed 2,00,000 units and the gross annual revenue target is $600 million. Now, from the marketplace for second-hand vehicles, Cars24 has branched out into areas such as vehicle servicing and financing and two-wheeler business. The two-wheeler business was started in the Lockdown. The company claims to have sold more than 3,000 two-wheelers in the last six months. The start-up launched 2 hr Easy Loan Service after getting the NBFC license. Across the country, Cars24 has 230 outlets in 35 cities. Former Indian cricket captain M.S. Dhoni is an investor of the startup. Vikram Chopra intends to use DST Global’s new investment and unicorn status to the benefit of Cars24 Financial Services and the two-wheeler business.
The value of Cars 24 rose to $ 1 billion after $ 200 million in funding in the Series E round led by DST Global, an investment firm led by billionaire Yuri Milner. It is observed that a second-hand car startup becoming a unicorn in the country has inspired the entire startup ecosystem.
