This Diwali CarBuddy will help you if your car breaks down

Wish to buy a car this Diwali? But what about the one you already have. So, this Diwali, Ratan Tata-backed CarDekho will launch CarBuddy, an app to assist you if your car breaks down in the middle of the road.

As reported by Economic Times, the app will ensure that a mechanic reaches you in a few minutes. CarBuddy will offer the service in India's big cities in the next three months.

CarDekho CEO Amit Jain said, "We have tied up with five major car helpline players in major metros and are in the process of tying up with local mechanics to provide the on-demand service."

As per the report, CarBuddy will work on commission basis, on different rates for various services including car wash, battery change, full car service and much more.

Developed by Girnar Soft’s Jaipur delivery canter, the app initially will be launched only on Android platforms and later-on will expand to an online manual for users for basic repairs.

In its series B of fund raising, in January, CarDekho raised $50 million from investors including Hillhouse Capital, Tybourne Capital and Sequoia Capital.

Not just this but the firm is also planning to spread out the idea. "India will prove to be a test ground for us. Once successful we will expand it overseas," Jain informed.

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, about 18.51 lakh cars were sold in India in 2014 but not many were covered under the repair assistance program. For instance, the Delhi National Capital Region has about 73 lakh cars, making it the country's biggest market.

"But only about 2.5 lakh cars are covered under any kind of repair assistance," said Neeraj Kumar Naveen, managing director of Race Car Helpline, which has 50,000 vehicles registered on its network.

According to estimates, each car registered on the repair networks in India gets serviced about 1.2 times per Year. India has about 2.2 crore vehicles on its roads.

The opportunity has attracted global repair assistance companies such as Mondial and Mapfre, which also offer assistance for luxury cars.

Image: thinkstock