Cars 24, founded in 2015, aims to make buying and selling cars an effortless process and stands as the largest auto tech company. Vikram Chopra, Mehul Agrawal, Gajendra Jangrid, and Ruchit Agarwal founded it.
Cars 24 is a pioneer in the industry and has leveraged technology to its advantage. It has a smart AI price engine to provide a great deal and balanced price to its customers. It provides the ease and comfort of selling from anywhere and receiving payments instantly.
The company is not only an e-commerce platform but also has an offline presence with 205 branches in India. It also functions in Thailand, UAE, and Australia. It is backed by SoftBank, Alpha Wave Global, KCK Global, etc.
Cars 24: Business Model
- Cars 24 follows the Customer to Business model (C2B) where it purchases used cars from individuals and deals, further, it sells them to others. It is an asset-heavy approach.
- The company charges a commission on every sale, approximately 4-5% on every transaction.
- It also charges a registration fee from buyers.
- The company ventured into the Customer to Customer (C2C) model which provides transparency to both buyer and seller. It holds a bidding for fair pricing.
- It offers car finance services, that is, loans to purchase used cars. One can customize EMI with a zero-down payment option. It has hassle-free document verification.
- It offers a pilot program where the customers can hire a driver called Autopilot. With skilled and safe drivers within just 10 minutes.
- Its services are not limited to buying and selling but also extend to viewing & paying challan, car repair and servicing, etc.
Company Analysis
In FY 23, the company brought down its loss by 57% and reported a revenue of Rs. 5,535 crores. It witnessed a growth of 7.8% year-on-year. It became a unicorn start-up in 2020 with a valuation of over $1 billion.
The company is neck to neck with many competitors in the market. In a highly competitive market, it has managed to stay afloat and secure a place for itself. Some of its competitors are Car Dekho, Carwale, CarTrade, Droom, etc.
MS Dhoni became the brand ambassador in 2019, and also invested in the company. It has some notable marketing strategies from harnessing the power of social media and digital marketing to ad campaigns with the face of the brand. The company also has a highly active blog on its website. It provides the latest updates and inside information on the company.
The company’s mission is ‘to revolutionize the way used cars are bought and sold across the world.’ It dominated the industry and has become one of the fastest-growing companies.
Customers know it for its top-notch customer service and its convenient delivery to the doorstep. It is constantly growing and expanding. From only selling used cars to autos and diversifying to bikes. It also plans to launch its IPO sometime in the near future. With that, it has established itself as a top player in the used cars industry.