New Delhi, 05
December, 2019: CarDekho, India’s leading full-stack auto-tech company,
has raised $70 million in Series D funding, led by Ping An’s Global Voyager
Fund as they chose CarDekho to be their first investment in India. Sunley House
Capital Management, a subsidiary of global private equity firm Advent
International joined the round along with existing investors Sequoia India and
Hillhouse. Based in China, Ping An is one of the world’s largest financial
services companies and is also the majority shareholder of China’s largest auto
portal, Autohome. Sequoia India is one of the early investors in CarDekho
having led the Series A round in 2013. With this new round of capital, CarDekho
has raised more than $250 million.
These funds
will be used to further strengthen CarDekho’s transaction businesses and expand
its international footprint. The company has recently started its operations in
the second country in Southeast Asia by acquiring the Philippines operations of
Carmudi, a leading New Auto player. CarDekho launched its Indonesia operations
in 2016 under the brand name OTO.com, which has since become the number one New
Auto portal in the country.
CarDekho has
successfully digitized the auto ecosystem in India and is aggressively pursuing
its vision to own the personal mobility space by helping customers across their
entire car purchase, ownership and sale journey. All car and motorcycle
manufacturers engage with CarDekho accounting for 15-30% of some of its partner
manufacturers’ annual sales. CarDekho also works actively with over 4,000 new
auto dealerships and 3,000 used car dealers across India influencing more than
42% of the retail sales happening through their counters. In addition, it works
in collaboration with more than 10 financial institutions and 18 insurance
companies across the country to facilitate used car financing and insurance to
provide a seamless experience for both buyers and sellers. The company recently
announced its H1 results for FY 19-20. The overall revenue of the company
achieved a YOY growth of 92% over the first half of the last fiscal year and
stood at $28 million. Despite the slowdown in new auto sales across the
country, the company’s New Auto business segment posted a significant growth of
30%. Its Insurance and Warranty business grew by 525%, Used Cars business by
120% and Financial Services business by 135% respectively.
“As a leading full-stack autotech company in India, we at CarDekho are committed to helping consumers throughout their car buying & selling journey. Our unique automobile ecosystem helps us provide compelling value propositions to the consumers and engage with them through our various transaction models at one platform. With the latest fundraise, we will continue to strengthen our domestic and international businesses and will aggressively work towards becoming the largest personal mobility ecosystem in the country,” said Amit Jain, CEO and Co-Founder, CarDekho.
“Auto
services are a core component of Ping An’s ‘finance + ecosystem’ strategy,
reflected in our majority shareholding in Autohome in China. We have been
extremely impressed with the business CarDekho has built in India, particularly
its success in developing different types of financial services offerings to
address car buyers’ needs,” said Donald
Lacey, Managing Director and COO of the Ping An Global Voyager Fund. “The
Global Voyager Fund’s stake in CarDekho represents Ping An’s first venture
investment in India, and we are delighted to partner with an organization of
CarDekho’s caliber.”
“CarDekho is
at the center of the car buying ecosystem in India, connecting auto brands,
dealers and consumers across the country through its portals,” said Mohammed Anjarwala, a Managing
Director at Sunley House Capital Management. “With a
significant share of the auto industry’s digital ad spending, we believe the
company is poised for strong growth as advertising in India increasingly moves
to digital channels. We look forward to supporting CarDekho by providing access
to our global network and experience in building high-growth businesses.”
“CarDekho
continues to execute very well on its ecosystem strategy across the used and
new auto space. Sequoia India is glad to welcome Ping An and Sunley House to
this partnership, and we are excited to deepen our support and commitment to
the CarDekho team in their journey to make car buying and selling a more
convenient and efficient experience for Indian consumers,” said Shailesh Lakhani, Managing Director,
Sequoia Capital India Advisors.
The RainMaker
Group acted as the sole financial advisor to the Company.