Car service platform Pitstop buys peer MotorWhiz

Bengaluru-based Chatpay Commerce Pvt. Ltd, which operates after-sales car service provider Pitstop, has acquired MotorWhiz, a mobile platform for car service and repair jobs, in a cash-and-stock deal.

The deal value was not disclosed.

In a joint statement, Blume Ventures-backed Pitstop said the acquisition was aimed at helping its engineering and strategic alliance teams to build, expand and upgrade their product offerings.

“We found a great synergy at business and technology level with the MotorWhiz team and this buyout would help us in expanding our offering at doorsteps across Delhi-NCR,” said Mihir Mohan Mishra, Pitstop’s co-founder and chief executive.

Delhi-based MotorWhiz, operated by MotorWhiz Automotive Pvt. Ltd, was founded in 2015 by Shubhankar Rahul and Shiv Soni. It has a presence across Delhi-NCR and provides location-based, mobile-enabled car services through its network of standardised workshops.

Pitstop, founded by IIT alumni Mishra and Nirant Ramakuru, aims to standardise the unorganised auto service industry while offering a booking platform for repairs from garages and auto care centres.

The company’s target audience is customers whose dealership service warranty has expired. Using the company’s online platform, customers can place a car service request, track service progress, get notifications regarding updates on service orders, and make payments as well.

Pitstop raised had raised $1 million (Rs 64 crore) in a pre-Series A round last September from Blume Ventures, Singapore-based Goldbell Group, and a group of angel investors.

The company is currently operational in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Delhi-NCR.

Going forward Pitstop aims to “build a pan-India network of certified workshops, empower them with high-end technology infrastructure, standardised processes and spare parts supply.”

The development follows another recent acquisition in the space. Mumbai-based car servicing startup Carcrew Technology Pvt. Ltd had last month acquired Delhi-based ClickGarage in a stock-and-cash deal.

In December, Gurgaon-based automobile servicing platform GoMechanic had agreed to acquire car servicing and repair startup VOW CarClinic.