[Funding alert] Pre-owned car platform CARS24 raises $100M in Series D funding led by Unbound

CARS24, a tech-enabled used car platform on Thursday said that it has raised $100 million as part of its Series D round of funding from Unbound, a London-based global investment firm, and New York-based Moore Strategic Ventures. The company's existing investors – KCK, Agnelli (Fiat) Family and Sequoia India, also participated in the said round.

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According to CARS24, the fund raised will be used to strengthen the company's footprint in new cities, scale franchise model, technology and the recently announced consumer lending (NBFC) business. 

The company has inaugurated several outlets across India to strengthen its foothold in the pre-owned car segment, and with the fresh funds, it will further expand its geographical presence. CARS24 is currently targeting to be present in 75 Indian cities by the end of this year.

In August 2019, as part of its Series D round, the pre-owned car company announced a strategic partnership with the former captain of the Indian cricket team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, as its brand ambassador and one of the investors in the company.

Speaking on the latest capital infusion, Vikram Chopra, Co-founder and CEO, of CARS24, said, “We are changing the transaction ecosystem for the pre-owned car marketplace in India. With this investment, we have not only strengthened our vision to become India’s largest pre-owned automobile company but have also given one more reason for our customers to have faith in us.”

“Our motive is to expand across India and give our customers a hassle-free selling experience. Any car owner can sell their car at a great price in less than an hour by driving down to the nearest CARS24 branch. To make it a reality, we’ve been investing heavily in making our tech more robust, as well as, convenient and frictionless for all,” Vikram added.   

At present, the company has over 10,000 channel partners registered on its platform and it intends to increase the network to more than 20,000 partners over the next two years.

The company also said that it has been actively launching operations in many Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

Commenting on the investment, Shravin Bharti Mittal, Founder, Unbound, said,

"We believe CARS24 is disrupting the pre-owned car industry in India and addressing the challenges faced by car owners, by providing them with a world-class customer experience which is quick, easy and hassle-free."

Today, CARS24 is doing transactions of 1.5 lakh cars per year and is targeting to reach one million annual transactions by the end of 2021. 

(Edited by Suman Singh)

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