Used car startups in India are slowing down their expansion or even leaving the segment completely as sales remain stagnant, despite a boost in 2021 and 2022 after supply chain issues from the pandemic and Russian/Ukrainian conflict. SoftBank-backed Cars24 is putting the brakes on business and Sequoia Capital-funded CarDekho has already left the used car retail business due to the lack of profitability. Meanwhile, Tiger Global-backed Spinny is focusing only on existing markets. New car sales in India grew to around 40 lakh units in 2022-23, causing used car platforms to become more prudent in their buying and selling of vehicles.
Cars24, which is backed by SoftBank, is executing a calculated expansion of the cities from where it buys cars and has stopped expanding the number of cities where it sells cars. Meanwhile, Tiger Global-backed Spinny is also learnt to have stopped entering new markets, focusing instead on its existing markets.
Softbank-Backed Cars24 raised USD 850 million from investors including SoftBank and Alpha Wave Global in 2021. Conversely, Sequoia Capital-funded CarDekho pulled out of the used-cars retail business in January-February this year citing no sight of profitability. Tiger Global-backed Spinny raised over USD 530 million from investors since its launch in 2015.
