Capri Loans Acquires Car Marketplace CarLelo For INR 150 Cr

Capri Global Holdings, the holding company of the listed non-banking financial company (NBFC) Capri Loans, has reportedly acquired a 51% stake in CarLelo, an online new car marketplace, for INR 150 Cr.

With the acquisition, Capri is looking to cross-sell sales and financing services on the new car platform. On the other hand, CarLelo plans to use the incoming funding to expand its geographical reach and dealership count.

Rajesh Sharma, MD and founder of Capri Global Holdings was cited by The Hindu as saying, “This investment is a testament to our commitment to driving the growth of the online new car sales and financing market.”

Sharma added that Capri Loans is looking to target customers’ needs and recognises the investment as an opportunity to foster the expansion of the online new car sales market.

Capri Global Holdings, in a separate statement, said that CarLelo will improve its presence, services and technology with the incoming funding to step up customer acquisition. “CarLelo currently has 1,200 associates across 34 cities in India who regularly interact with customers, delivering them end-to-end services for all their new vehicle-related needs,” the statement said.

The company also plans to handhold around 8,000 authorised dealerships in the country to improve customer experience on CarLelo. With this, Capri Loans said CarLelo intends to sell 7,000-8,000 cars per month.

Founded in 2013 by Gaurav Aggarwal, CarLelo is an online new car sales marketplace selling cars and other related products, such as car loans. The platform partners with several banks and NBFCs to offer car loans to customers buying cars on its platform.

The company’s website shows CarLelo being a joint venture of Capri Loans post the acquisition.

For Capri, car loans have emerged as a significant variable over the year ended March 31, 2023, as the NBFC originated INR 6,013.3 Cr in new car loans during the financial year. 

According to its filings with the BSE, Capri also saw a net contribution of INR 117.9 Cr from the car loans vertical. As such, acquiring CarLelo would give Capri access to a customer base looking for car loans, creating a synergy between the two companies.

Apart from CarLelo, recent acquisitions include BrightCHAMPS acquiring Metamorphosis Edu, BharatPe picking up a majority stake in Trillion Loans, and Nazara’s NODWIN picking up a 51% stake in Branded.