Used car market platform, Cars24 on Monday announced that it has closed a $ 450 million round of funding, including a $ 340 million Series F equity round alongside $ 110 million debt from diversified financial institutions. The Series F equity round was led by DST Global, Falcon Edge and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and participation from Tencent and existing investors Moore Strategic Ventures and Exor Seeds. With the latest investment, Cars24 will expand its global presence and further build its cars, bikes and financing business in India while investing in technology that delivers the best customer experience possible. Vikram Chopra, Co-founder & CEO, Cars24, said, 'Traditionally, car selling or buying have been a tiresome process, and only two of 100 people own cars in India. However, over the last six years, we have been working continuously towards fulfilling the dreams of many Indians to own a car by transforming the customer's journey- 'the CARS24 way' that is hassle-free, safe and transparent. With this investment, we will continue to penetrate existing car, bikes and financing business in India while venturing into new overseas geographies this year.'
The company recently expanded into the UAE and Australian markets. It has already sold over 1,000 cars in the UAE since the launch of its operations in April this year. Cars24 also officially announced its launch with a new campaign last week in Australia. Rahul Mehta, Managing Partner, DST Global, said, 'Cars24 have emerged as the undisputed leader in the used car space in India, and early traction in international markets is exceeding expectations. We love backing founders who are bold and ambitious thinkers and couldn't be more excited to enter the second innings of our long-lasting partnership with Cars24.' Navroz D Udwadia, Co-founder, Falcon Edge Capital, said, 'We have studied used car platforms globally and are struck by the similarities we see between Cars24 and analogous businesses that have scaled successfully. Cars24 has cemented its first-mover advantage by building wide-ranging supply side moats, which in turn drive demand liquidity on the platform.'