CarTrade Gets $145M To Ride India’s Flourishing Used Vehicle Market

CarTrade, a classified site for car dealers in India, has scored an impressive $145 million in new funding to fuel new acquisitions and expand its products. The round was led by Singapore-based investment firm Temasek and March Capital, with participation from returning investor Warburg Pincus.

Founded in 2009, CarTrade claims it is now India’s largest car classifieds platform following its acquisition of rival CarWale, which was announced in November 2015. The sites, which still operate separately, are used by 10,000 new and used car dealers and see a total of 32 million visits every month.

Used cars are a major vertical for CarTrade. There are currently over 225,000 listings for secondhand vehicles on its sites. Used cars may not sound sexy, but sales have already outpaced new vehicles in India and are expected to continue growing as the economy improves and more people purchase their first cars.

Other startups riding the used car wave include CarDekho, a classifieds site that competes directly with CarTrade, and smaller companies that offer specialty services, including car inspections, like Gozoomo and Spinny.

In a statement, Ravi Lambah, Temasek’s co-head for India, said “India is an important market for us. It has certain structural advantages which include favorable demographics, increasing urbanization, and strong consumption trends. The online auto industry is a good proxy for the needs of transforming economies and growing middle income populations, both of which are part of our investment themes.”