Business Model of Cars24 ~ Business Plan, Revenue Model, SWOT Analysis

Introduction

CARS24 is an online used car marketplace that is headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, India. The company sells more than 1,50,000 cars annually. The company is considered among the four major organized players in the used car segment in India. The business plan of Cars24 involves business model, SWOT Analysis, Revenue model, its competitors and many more.

Cars24 was founded in 2015 by Vikram Chopra, Mehul Agrawal, Gajendra Jangid and Ruchit Agarwal as a platform to buy and sell used cars.  It also launched a service offering vehicles inspection services at the customers location in place of their branch.

Competitors

Revenue Model

Delhi NCR-based used car marketplace Cars24 plans to achieve $2 Bn revenue by FY23 by banking on its international expansion plans. The company also plans to further its diversification beyond the ‘cars’ marketplace into bikes, grow its used car financing platform, on the back of the funds that the unicorn recently raised.

To accelerate its growth, recently Cars24 raised $400 Mn at a valuation of $3.3 Bn. Of this, $300 Mn was in a Series G equity round led by Alpha Wave Global and $100 Mn was raised in debt funding from investors in India, Australia, and the UAE.

According to Cars24, it is clocking over 90% of the market share in the online used car segment. However, in the total (online as well as offline pre-owned cars selling), it only accounts for 5-6% of the market.

In FY21, Cars24 reported operating revenue of $371.3 Mn (INR 2,720 Cr) as opposed to $424.7 Mn (INR 3,110 Cr) in FY20.

Currently, Cars24 has grown by 65-70% in its revenue with an annual revenue run rate (ARR) of $1 Bn for FY22 as of December 2021, Jangid said. Of this, over 20% of the revenue comes from newly expanded international markets.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

  1. Online Business: Cars24 provides online services such as online buying and online selling second-hand cars. This kind of business can be easily adaptable in the variable market. The business always has challenges to conquer. For example, in the age of the pandemic, online businesses take huge advantages because their development is not disrupted. Cars24 with an online business still makes a profit and has engagements with their customers that make sure that in the recovered economy age, Cars24 will predominate over the left businesses.
  2. Simple Process: They have simplified the process of providing services. If you are confused with a wide range of selling-provided cars and you do not have enough time to check every single store and car, Cars24 will be able to send suitable cars to your home with just some simple steps even when you do not get off your couch.
  3. Financial Services: Financial issues are always taken into consideration when customers have the intention to buy a car. Customers are afraid of complex transparency processes, so Cars24 provides their customers with a 100% digitized process to complete transparency. Besides, if customers do not have enough money to pay for their favourite cars at once, they can pay for them in monthly instalments with a low-interest rate.
  4. A Vast System: With a vast network of channel partners across the country, Cars24 can easily find the cars customers want and also if customers are bored with face-to-face negotiating 20 or 30 times with customers to sell their old cars, Cars24 can help you to sell in just a blink of an eye. A vast network also helps Cars24 stand a good chance to have access to an abundant source of potential customers.
  5. Experienced Staff:  As a result of the fact that Cars24 has a culture of trust and cooperation, their employees and partners play a pivotal role in their system. Cars24 invests to upgrade their members’ professional qualifications to make sure their customers are served with the best services. Besides, Cars24 also takes care of members’ personal lives.
  6. Great Fund: With great capital, Cars24’s customers can be guaranteed for their selling cars. Cars24 is a private limited company. Cars24’s share capital is INR 7.00 cr and the total paid-up capital is INR 5.10 cr.

Weaknesses

  1. Limited Market: Cars24 mainly focused on India. It has branches in more than 100 cities. According to research, the pre-owned car market is so active. Cars24 should have branches in other countries.
  2. Difference Between Online Valuation & Post Inspection Price: Cars24 buys and sells cars online, their customers can not have an inspection on their cars before buying, they can only have information which is provided by Cars24 via their website, so customers definitely will have wrong information about the products.
  3. Negative Feedback From Customers: When it comes to product rating, there are 60% rated 1 start. Most customers are uncomfortable with the way Cars24 evaluates cars and gives their customers prices. It is low from customers’ expectations. Besides, Cars24’s are also unsatisfactory with the services which are provided. It is high time for Cars24 to run a campaign to improve customers’ experience.
  4. Seasonal Business: Cars24 does not have substantial profit and is often idle during non-season.

Business and Product Design — CARS24 | by Teja Kancherla | Medium

Opportunities

  1. Trend: People now have the intention to buy pre-owned cars. There are so many reasons why they do that, they do not have to pay some kind of taxes, expenses are less, the quality of secondhand cars has been improved, and so on. Besides, according to research, most people in the world buy a secondhand car with 67% at second-hand stores.
  2. A Big Source of Old Cars: The number of old cars is increasing. To comply with environmental law, in some countries, they will have to leave cars which are still in good condition. Businesses can make full use of it by organizing car resale segments.
  3. Developed Transportation: Nowadays, it is easier for people to bring a car from one country to another. With a source of cheap cars, a business can make a great fortune if businesses know how to manage everything.
  4. Pandemic: In the age of pandemic, people may not be able to go to the physical store to inspect cars or have face-to-face negotiations with customers to sell their cars. In this situation, Cars24 will predominate the left. With an online store, Cars24 can keep functioning.

Threats

  1. Competitors: Pre-owned car market is an attractive market. So many people now have noticed how potential this environment is. With the help of technology,  new competitors can easily be involved in this field. Besides, expenses to change business are low.
  2. Lack of Trust: The fact that so many people are uncomfortable with the way Cars24 inspect and give a price. And as a result, Cars24 has a lot of bad feedback from customers. This will be a chance for Cars24’s competitors to take advantage and leave Cars24 behind.
  3. Environmental Policies: In some countries, there are strict standards for cars before they have them imported into their country. Cars24 will have to invest a great amount of money if they want to have cars that can meet environmental requirements.
  4. Condition of Cars: The condition of an old car is not guaranteed which all time hinders a customer from purchasing a used car from Cars24.

Conclusion

On a high level, this is how Cars24 works. Essentially, it eliminates all ambiguity between the buyer and seller and provides a flawless customer experience from start to finish. It’s also a lucrative business.