EXCLUSIVE: Cars24, a startup selling used cars, wants outlets in 300 cities and is looking for potential franchisees

• Cars24 has announced its first franchisee in Surat.
• The startup plans to breakeven by December 2019.
• It plans to invest ₹1-1.5 million into a franchise depending on the location.

Indian used cars startup Cars24 is adopting the franchise model to expand across the country. This will help them set-up 300 outlets in tier 2, 3 and 4 cities over the next two years.

The startup plans to breakeven by December 2019, and the franchising model could help ramp up operations.

Strengthening its presence in tier 2 cities, it also opened a franchisee branch in Surat – the second largest automobile market in India.

It plans to invest ₹1-1.5 million into a franchise, depending on the location. It is shortlisting partners after putting them through a lens, and clearing only one from every 200 applications.

“Our key objective is to address the challenges that are faced by sellers and buyers in non-metro cities. We are filling the vast gap of a dependable partner in the used car segment and associating the entrepreneurial spirit and local talent of non-metro cities with our platform for seamless execution,” said Mehul Agarwal, Co-founder and COO, CARS24.

Cars24 sells over 13,000 cars every month through its platform. In over four years, it sold 1.6 lakh cars. It is now present in 35 cities with 150 branches, Cars24 plans to be in 70 cities with 230 branches, by 2019.

“We only have 2% market share of the $30 billion used car market. In India, 5 million used cars are sold every year. Our objective is to take this 2% to 20% over the next 5 years,” Vikram Chopra, co-founder and CEO of Cars24 had said in an earlier interview with Business Insider.

This development from Cars24 comes at a time when the Indian auto industry is witnessing a slowdown in the sales of new cars. The country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki too reported a 14% decline in sales in June.

Passenger vehicle sales have been suffering for the last eight months. Consumer sentiment has suffered due to cost increases amid strict safety regulations, delay in monsoon, rural stress, slowing economy and liquidity constraints.

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