Online automotive portal CarDekho Thursday said it has raised $70 million in a Series D round led by Chinese investor Ping An Global Voyager Fund.
Ping An is a majority shareholder in Autohome, China’s leading online automobile portal. Sunley House Capital Management, a subsidiary of private equity firm Advent International, joined the round along with existing investors Sequoia India and Hillhouse Capital.
While CarDekho did not disclose its latest valuation, a person familiar with the matter said it is valued at $700 million post the latest round.
Mint first reported on 13 October that Autohome is in talks to invest in CarDekho, along with Sequoia.
CarDekho sells both new and used cars on its platform, and has seen strategic investor interest despite a slowdown in India’s automobile industry.
Mint reported on 2 October that online car retailing startups, particularly in the used car segment, are continuing to attract investors. This is because the used car segment is still growing well, albeit over a smaller base. Demand for used cars have been so far unaffected by the slowdown. Automakers, however, saw a glimmer of hope with October passenger vehicle sales rising 0.3% after nearly a year of weak sales. Passenger vehicles were however an exception in the overall auto industry, with all other segments recording weaker sales last month.
“As a leading full-stack autotech company in India, we at CarDekho are committed to helping consumers throughout their car buying & selling journey,” said Amit Jain, co-founder and chief executive, CarDekho.
CarDekho, owned by Girnar Software Pvt. Ltd, was founded in 2008 by Jaipur-based brothers Amit and Anurag Jain. It has raised about $250 million so far, previously raising $110 million in a Series C round led by Sequoia India, China’s Hillhouse Capital, Google parent Alphabet’s growth investment arm Capital G and Axis Bank, in January. At the time, it was valued at $400-500 million.
