Jaipur based CarDekho, has raised $250mn that included $200mn Series E equity and $50mn debt in its pre IPO round.
The funding round was led by Leapfrog Investments alongside Canyon Partners, Mirae Asset, Harbor Spring Capital and existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Sunley House.
The company said it will use the fresh funds to expand its used car and financial services businesses. According to the company, it is also looking to expand its catalogue to over 10,000 cars in the near future.
Mr. Amit Jain, Co-founder and CEO CarDekho said, “CarDekho, from being a car research portal, has evolved to become a complete ecosystem for car buying, lifecycle management and selling. We are committed to empowering our customers and providing them with a convenient and hassle-free experience. The new fundraise will help us expand our Used Car transactions and Financial services businesses. The trust and conviction of our investors will help us to accelerate our growth plans whilst we provide our customers with an experience that will continue to re-define car buying and selling.”
Competition in the online car-retailing space has heated up over the past months. Cab aggregator and electric vehicle manufacturer Ola also entered the used car online retailing space with the Ola Cars platform announced earlier this month.
CarDekho has been the pioneer in digitalizing the auto ecosystem in India and, along with its group companies, it has become the go-to destination for all auto stakeholders, including original equipment manufacturers, dealers, car buyers and sellers.
CarDekho works directly with almost all automobile manufacturers in India, amounting for up to 30% of annual sales for its strategic partners.
CarDekho works actively with 3,500+ new auto dealers and 4,000+ used car dealers, homegrown traders and entrepreneurs.
It collaborates with 14+ financial institutions and 40+ insurance companies to facilitate used car finance and insurance thereby providing a seamless experience to both used car buyers and sellers.
Stewart Langdon, Partner and Co-Head of South Asian Investments, LeapFrog Investments, said, “Amit and the team have done an outstanding job in building the leading digital platform in India’s auto-tech market. We expect the business to continue on its rapid growth trajectory thanks to the calibre of the team and the extraordinary tailwinds which this segment now enjoys from increasing formalisation, digitisation and transparency. CarDekho is an outstanding platform for large scale social impact, already making vehicles more accessible, affordable and trustworthy for over three million emerging consumers. Improving access to mobility in this way will help to drive development in other key areas, such as healthcare and education.”
Mr. Shailesh Lakhani, Managing Director, Sequoia India said, “Amit, Anurag, and the team at Cardekho have built a business that has far exceeded our initial expectations. Several of their business units hold leadership positions, and are now building further expertise in the used cars and financial services space where they are strongly positioned. The team at Sequoia India continues to be strong believers in their long-term success.”
Mr Abhinav Sharman, Director, Sunley House Capital said, “We are thrilled to continue our support of CarDekho and their mission to be the leading retail auto and financial services provider in Southeast Asia. Since our initial investment, the company has had tremendous growth, establishing itself as the largest tech-auto platform in India. We are confident that this new investment will enable Cardekho to accelerate its growth in the auto retail market while capitalizing on the sizeable addressable market in auto insurance.”