Mumbai based Truebil, an online marketplace for used cars, has raised Series A funding worth Rs 35 crore (a little over $5 million) from Kalaari Capital, Inventus Capital and San Francisco-based Tekton Ventures, with participation from existing investor Kae Capital, reports ET. It will use the funding on product and technology and expanding to Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Truebil, also available as an Android app, plans to launch a platform which will recommend cars based on certain user input. The company claims to be doing 200 transactions monthly, with plans to reach 1,500 in a year. It was launched in March last year and founded by multiple ex-Housing employees: Suraj Kalwani, Ravi Chirania, Shubh Bansal, Rakesh Raman, Ritesh Pandey, Shanu Vivek and Himanshu Singhal and had then raised Rs 3.2 crore in funding led by Kae Capital.
Users can search by brand or car model, after which it lists multiple features and information about the cars, including owner info, child locks, tubeless tyres, fog lamps, air bags, ABS etc. It inspects the cars and assigns them a score. Further, the company also adds its own services like service warranty, car loans and insurance which can be bought. As of now, it claims to have 5,000 cars and 1,000 buyers.
Developments in the online car sale segment:
– This month, CarTrade, the Mumbai-based auto classifieds website, raised $145 million in a round of funding from multiple investors. It mentioned that it will also use the funds to pay for the acquisition of CarWale for ~$90 million from Axel Springer,
– Flipkart started a pilot in Bangalore where users would be able to book motorbikes and cars online, in partnership with two local dealers, Khivraj Motors for motorcycles and Kalyani Motors for Maruti-Suzuki cars.
– In November, Snapdeal launched an automobile platform called Snapdeal Motors that would let users book vehicles online.
– In the same month, HDFC sold its entire stake (4%) in Mahindra First Choice, Mahindra & Mahindra’s pre-owned cars retail chain, while Phi Advisors, which was an initial PE investor sold a part of its stake (it holds 25-35%) in the same, both for an undisclosed amount. Cox Automotive acquired a ‘significant strategic stake’ in the company for an undisclosed amount.
– In September, car portal CarDekho has acquired Times Internet* owned auto portal Zigwheels for an undisclosed amount.
– In August, Droom, a marketplace to buy and sell used bikes/cars, raised Rs 100 crore in its first round of funding, from Lightbox and Beenos.
– In the same month, classifieds site Quikr launched QuikrCars where users could search for and buy new and used cars, bikes and other vehicles like trucks by budget.
