CarDekho SEA, the Southeast Asia business unit of India’s largest digital automotive solutions provider CarDekho Group, has raised its first external funding round of USD 60 million from various investors.
The round was led by private equity investors Navis Capital Partners (Navis) and Dragon Fund. Following this round, the cumulative fundraise now stands at over USD 100 million, the company said in a statement.
CarDekho SEA, headquartered in Singapore and operational across Southeast Asia, is a pioneering auto-ecosystem offering a variety of services including used car finance and refinance loans, dealer inventory funding, and classifieds, with a vision to become the largest, fastest, and widest auto financial services marketplace in the region.
“The fresh capital will be used to enhance the group’s existing capabilities in Indonesia used car and bike financing, used car refinancing and classifieds, and to support further expansion into the used auto financing sector in the Philippines,” it said.
The group will continue to build and develop upon its ecosystem for its distribution partners in the region through existing product offerings like inventory funding for used car dealer/agent partners and aims to accelerate growth through complementary solutions in auto insurance, extended warranties, and electric vehicle financing.
In Indonesia, CarDekho SEA holds a 3 per cent market share within the used auto finance sector and currently partners with over 40 financiers. Regionally, the firm owns and operates multiple brands including OTO Indonesia, Carmudi Philippines, and Zigwheels Philippines.
Since its 2020 launch, CarDekho SEA has achieved significant growth, including over 200,000 disbursements, surpassing USD 1 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) and establishing partnerships with over 50 financiers and 20,000 dealers and retail agents, a 50x increase in GMV demonstrating exponential growth over the past three years.
The group also maintains online traffic leadership achieving monthly visits of more than 5 million in Indonesia and 2 million in the Philippines, and has a strong presence in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam, it added.
“By replicating our Indian playbook for international markets, we have been able to understand and solve consumer needs across diverse cultures and regions. This journey isn’t just about expanding our footprint but about bringing meaningful, accessible solutions to people worldwide. This is a shared achievement with our teams, partners, and customers who believe in our mission. to establish ourselves yet again as the largest auto-financial services marketplace,”
Amit Jain, co-founder and CEO of the CarDekho Group said.
CarDekho SEA offers tech-driven loan processes, asset-light marketplace model with zero credit risk, extensive network among used car dealers & agents, and strong partnerships with financiers, with enhanced approval rates and operational efficiency, thereby solidifying its market position.
To continue thriving in an evolving technological landscape, CarDekho SEA will leverage AI and machine learning solutions to structurally reduce fraud risk, credit risk, and provide additional data inputs to their financing partners. Ongoing focus on deeper tech and process integrations with the financier partners will enable a simple, secure, and swift digitized loan journey.
With these advancements and a strong ecosystem for distribution partners, CarDekho SEA has positioned itself as a key strategic partner for business growth.
Commenting on the development, Umang Kumar, Co-founder and CEO CarDekho SEA, “This investment validates our progress in used auto financing in Indonesia while empowering us to accelerate our expansion to become the largest, fastest, and widest auto financial services marketplace in the region.”
Rajendra Pai, Partner at Navis Capital, said, “ The strength of their dedicated team, combined with their innovative approach to automotive financial services, positions them uniquely to address the significant underserved market in the region. We believe that by enhancing financial inclusion, CarDekho SEA will not only empower consumers but also drive transformative change across the automotive landscape.”
Ridhi Chaudhary, Chief Investment Officer at Dragon Fund, said, “Under Kumar’s leadership, CarDekho SEA will be able to leverage the Group’s India expertise and playbook to build the leading auto financials services marketplace in Southeast Asia. Dragon Fund with its MUFG backing is well positioned to help the company in realising this vision.”
