Chiratae, Sequoia infuse $14.7 mn into GoMechanic

Targetone Innovations-owned automobile servicing platform GoMechanic has raised $14.7 million (Rs 105 crore) in a Series-B investment round led by venture capital firms Chiratae Ventures and Sequoia Capital.

Orios Venture Partners also participated in the round, GoMechani said in a statement on Monday. Sequoia and Orios are returning investors at the company.

The investment will be used to support GoMechanic’s expansion into 10 more cities by the end of 2020, in its EV thrust, brand promotion and in streamlining spare parts procurement, the statement said.

The franchise-owned, company-operated model currently consists of a network of 215 car repair workshops across Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula.

“... The current fundraise will reinvigorate our thrust in providing scalable technology-first solutions for the $11-billion unorganised automotive repairs and maintenance market,” co-founder Amit Bhasin said.

Founded by Bhasin, Kushal Karwa, Rishabh Karwa and Nitin Rana in 2016, GoMechanic provides a network of technology-enabled car service centres. It functions on an asset-light basis with centralised bulk procurement of spare parts from original equipment manufacturers, zero real-estate overheads and technology-driven efficiency, which results in savings that the company claims are passed on to the customers. 

GoMechanic plans to add other verticals to become an end-to-end service provider in this space. Earlier this year, it had raised $4.9 million in a Series-A round, led by Sequoia Capital and Orios. 

“In the 12 months since Sequoia India led the Series A, the company has scaled many times on the back of its asset-light network of workshops and most importantly, built true customer love. Given the massive market potential of $5B+, we are excited to see what comes next,” Abhishek Mohan, a vice president at Sequoia Capital India, said.

Recently, GoMechanic roped in former Ashok Leyland executive Suyash Kumar to head its e-mobility business. The company said it expects to serve over a million cars, with a target of 10 million customers by 2021.

Recent developments in the sector:

Last month, another player in the online vehicles servicing space, FirstU, had raised an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round from venture capital firm India Quotient, startup accelerator FirstCheque, co-founder at ecommerce site Fynd Farooq Adam and other angel investors. 

Other startups in the sector include the likes of Bengaluru-based CleanseCar Washing and Repair Services and Gurugram-based GoMechanic.

Last month, CleanseCar raised $2 million in seed funding from a group of angel investors and family offices. In June, it had acquired Carnanny, another subscription-based daily car wash and car care service provider in an all-stock deal.

CleanseCar claims to provide car wash services to 50,000 cars per day in Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai, and plans to expand its services in Delhi, Pune and Hyderabad by the end of this year. It is also looking to acquire more firms in this space.