CarDekho bucks auto sector slowdown to grow H1 revenues 92%

CarDekho, the new and used cars marketplace owned by Jaipur-based Girnar Software, reported a 92% growth in revenues for the six months ended September 30, 2019, to $28 million despite a slowdown in the automobile industry.

Sequentially, revenue growth in the second quarter remained flat despite the festive season occuring in that quarter. In the first quarter of the financial year 2019-2020, CarDekho reported revenues at $13 million.  

The company’s new car segment, which contributes 80% of total revenues, grew 30%, while its used car segment grew 118%. The new car segment reported an increase on account of support from original equipment manufacturers and the platform’s consumer behavior-based solutions, said a statement.

Used cars transactions stood at $50 million during the first half of this year and the platform expects this number to increase significantly in the second half of the year.

Non-core operations such as insurance, warranty business and the financial services segment also reported growth of over 500% and 135% respectively. CarDekho’s insurance sales increased over 12 times, with 360,000 policies being issued. The car lending business saw the company disburse used car loans worth $56 million.

“What kept us relevant in the automobile industry amidst the slowdown is the unique business model of new and used car ecosystem. Our newly launched venture InsuranceDekho is making strong headway,” Amit Jain, co-founder and CEO of CarDekho, said.

Founded in 2008 by Amit Jain and Anurag Jain, the CarDekho Group operates other portals such as Gaadi.com, ZigWheels.com, BikeDekho.com, InsuranceDekho.com, PowerDrift.com, InsuranceDekho.com, TyreDekho.com and TrucksDekho.com. In 2016, CarDekho also expanded operations to Indonesia under the brand name OTO. 

Other players in the space include Cars24, Droom, and CarTrade.

In FY19 CarDekho reported a 63% increase in its topline to $53 million. In January, the company also raised $110 million in a growth round from new and existing investors including private sector lender Axis Bank, venture capital firm Sequoia Capital India, Ratan Tata-owned RNT Associates and CapitalG, earlier known as Google Capital.