Refurbishing is new mantra for Cars24

The Gurugram-based startup is betting big on refurbishment of its inventory and its phygital model, and has plans an IPO in 2-3 years’ time. Mayank Dhingra has the details.

- Mayank Dhingra

Gurugram-based startup Cars24 is betting big on the refurbishment of its inventory even as it puts in the building blocks for a phygital model for buying and selling of pre-owned cars. Late last year, the invested close to Rs 50 crore in setting up seven mega refurbishment labs (MRLs) that will turn around 2,000-3,000 cars every month.

These hubs, to be set up in Tier 1 cities including Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai, have been equipped with tools and machines such as suspension test benches, wheel aligners and paint booths. The MRLs will refurbish used cars after assessing their condition.

Once refurbished, these pre-owned cars will be listed on the company’s classifieds portal. While Cars24 had been relying on partner workshops to conduct such assessments since 2019, when it first forayed into the sale of pre-owned cars, it now plans to scale up over the next five years for which it has made this investment.

“Our investment in MRLs for the long-term,” says co-founder and chief marketing officer, Gajendra Jangid, in an interview with Autocar Professional.As he explains his strategy, “The idea is to not reinvent the wheel every time as we scale this side of our business over the next five years.”

From being a pure brick-and-mortar platform that buys cars from those who wish to trade in their cars, regardless of its age or condition, Cars24’s concept has evolved over the years. Its decision to diversify into the sale of used cars in 2019 was based on its ability to leverage its abundant supply of used vehicles. “Our backbone is supply, and that is where we started our journey,” Jangid said.