Temasek Leads $55 Mn Funding Round In Automobile Classifieds Platform CarTrade

Mumbai-based online automobile classifieds platform, CarTrade has raised $55 Mn in a fresh round of funding led by Singapore-based Temasek, and a US-based family office.

Vinay Sanghi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, CarTrade said, “CarTrade is aggressively looking at the market for used car finance with less than 8% of used cars sold being financed through an organised financier. To address this opportunity CarTrade Finance was recently launched with the aim of financing the inventory for car dealers and to consumers who wish to buy used cars.”

The recent round of funding will be utilised to support CarTrade’s growth plans through acquisitions, expansion into areas such as auto finance, etc.

Founded in 2010 by Vinay Sanghi, CarTrade.com, provides buyers and sellers a structured platform for buying and selling new and used vehicles.

It acquired rival Carwale in January 2016. According to a company statement it claims to have 15 Mn unique customers per month, and has about 8,000 new and used car dealer partners. The platforms list more than 200K used cars for sale and auctions over 200K vehicles to the wholesale market every year.

Last year in January, it raised $145 Mn (INR 950 Cr.) in a funding round from Singapore state investor – Temasek Holdings, US-based investment firm – March Capital and existing investor Warburg Pincus. Existing investors also include JP Morgan.

According to an IBEF report, the Indian auto industry, one of the largest in the world, accounts for 7.1% of the country’s GDP. The automotive sector is valued at approximately $15 Bn in the top eight cities, of which the after sales market is close to $7 Bn and growing at a healthy pace. Other startups operating in this space are new startups include OLX, Quikr, Cardekho, Spinny, etc.