CARS24 raises AED75mln from CBD

Dubai: CARS24, the leading e-commerce platform for pre-owned vehicles has announced that it has raised AED75 million in local debt funding from Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), one of the leading banks in the UAE. This debt facility further strengthens CARS24’s commitment to the UAE market and provides significant funding flexibility and room to grow its inventory. In addition, it is a testament to CBDs focus on backing its customer’s ambitions and supporting new-age lending in the UAE digital ecosystem.

The agreement was signed between Dr. Bernd van Linder, Chief Executive Officer, CBD and Vikram Chopra, Co-founder & Global CEO, CARS24. The company, valued at US$1.8 billion, is one of the most valuable privately held pre-owned car startups globally. This debt funding follows the company’s global USD$450 million funding round in September this year.

Dr. Bernd van Linder, Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Bank of Dubai said, “CBD has always been keen to enhance the overall business environment in the UAE and support start-ups as they are a vital contributor to the growth of the country’s economy. Since last year, there has been a huge increase in the number of online2offline businesses, partially due to the recent global pandemic, and we see a clear need to back these businesses and provide them with the funds they require to scale up and expand”.

After signing this agreement, Vikram stated that, “UAE is a very important and strategic market for us. Raising these funds from CBD at this juncture will further consolidate our leadership position and as a brand we are delighted that the bank has supported our business model.”

CARS24 commenced operations in the UAE in May 2021, and since then the company has sold over 2,000 cars and all of these transactions were conducted entirely online. In September this year, CARS24 had announced that it would be investing another AED 367 million in the UAE and other GCC countries to further expand its presence.

CARS24 is currently backed by marquee investors like Sequoia, SoftBank, Falcon Edge, DST Global and Kingsway Capital. In addition, CARS24 enjoys the sponsorship of Cricketing great M.S. Dhoni as both an investor and brand ambassador. As a result of the company’s growth-oriented business model, it has received funding to the tune of USD1 billion since it launched operations in 2015.

“UAE market has a great potential and we want to set the stage for 2022 with a strong 4th quarter this year. The economic indicators have rapidly become encouraging and positive after the World EXPO 2020, and as a result we have already seen a significant impact on our sales,” concluded Vikram.

All vehicles on the CARS24 platform undergo a 150+ points inspection check and are refurbished thoroughly. Furthermore, these cars are put through a stringent RTA test before being listed online. Every car bought from CARS24 comes with a 7 days return policy and 2 years warranty.

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About CBD:

Commercial Bank of Dubai was established in 1969 and is registered as a Public Shareholding Company (PSC). The Bank is listed on the Dubai Financial Market and is mostly owned by UAE Nationals, including 20% by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD). Over the years, Commercial Bank of Dubai has built itself into a progressive and modern Banking institution, endowed with a strong financial structure and strong management, as well as a loyal and ever increasing customer and correspondent base. Today CBD is one of the leading banks in the United Arab Emirates and offers its customers a full range of retail and commercial banking products and services.

About CARS24: CARS24 is the largest online transaction platform for pre-owned vehicles in India. Founded in 2015 by Vikram Chopra, Mehul Agrawal, Ruchit Agarwal and Gajendra Jangid, it offers an efficient, reliable, and hassle-free transacting experience to customers to buy and sell pre-owned vehicles (cars and bikes) as well as financing options. CARS24 operates in over 130 cities in India. Since its inception, CARS24 has built a strong technology backbone that features various first-of-its-kind offerings including an innovative auction format, a state-of-the-art proprietary inspection app, and a powerful algorithm that matches supply and demand across the country. In addition, CARS24 also features an innovative price discovery mechanism for used vehicles.

CARS24 is the first player in the pre-owned vehicle industry to procure a non-banking financial company (NBFC) license and launch consumer lending business with CARS24 Financial Services and two-wheeler segment BIKES24. It is backed by marquee investors like Sequoia India, SoftBank, Falcon Edge, Exor Seeds (venture arm of Exor, one of the world’s leading holding companies controlled by the Agnelli Family), DST Global, Kingsway Capital (London based multi-billion US$ fund), Unbound (global investment firm headquartered in London), Moore Strategic Ventures and KCK (Silicon Valley & New York based investment firm).

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Media contact:
Prem A. Ramachandran
White Water Public Relations
prem@whitewaterpr.com 

© Press Release 2021