CARS24 has announced that it has raised AED75 million in local debt funding from the Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), one of the leading banks in the UAE. This debt facility further strengthens CARS24’s commitment to the UAE market and provides significant funding flexibility and room to grow its inventory. In addition, it is a testament to CBDs focus on backing its customer’s ambitions and supporting new-age lending in the UAE digital ecosystem.

The agreement was signed between Dr. Bernd van Linder, Chief Executive Officer, CBD, and Vikram Chopra, Co-Founder and Global CEO, CARS24. The company, valued at US$1.8 billion, is one of the most valuable privately held pre-owned car startups globally. This debt funding follows the company’s global USD$450 million funding round in September this year.

Dr. Bernd van Linder, Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Bank of Dubai said, “CBD has always been keen to enhance the overall business environment in the UAE and support start-ups as they are a vital contributor to the growth of the country’s economy. Since last year, there has been a huge increase in the number of online2offline businesses, partially due to the recent global pandemic, and we see a clear need to back these businesses and provide them with the funds they require to scale up and expand”.

After signing this agreement, Vikram stated, “UAE is a very important and strategic market for us. Raising these funds from CBD at this juncture will further consolidate our leadership position and as a brand, we are delighted that the bank has supported our business model.”

CARS24 commenced operations in the UAE in May 2021, and since then the company has sold over 2,000 cars and all of these transactions were conducted entirely online. In September this year, CARS24 had announced that it would be investing another AED 367 million in the UAE and other GCC countries to further expand its presence.

CARS24 is currently backed by marquee investors such as Sequoia, SoftBank, Falcon Edge, DST Global, and Kingsway Capital. In addition, CARS24 enjoys the sponsorship of Cricketing great M.S. Dhoni as both an investor and brand ambassador. As a result of the company’s growth-oriented business model, it has received funding to the tune of USD1 billion since it launched operations in 2015.

“UAE market has great potential and we want to set the stage for 2022 with a strong 4^th quarter this year. The economic indicators have rapidly become encouraging and positive after the World EXPO 2020, and as a result, we have already seen a significant impact on our sales,” concluded Vikram.

All vehicles on the CARS24 platform undergo a 150+ points inspection check and are refurbished thoroughly. Furthermore, these cars are put through a stringent RTA test before being listed online. Every car bought from CARS24 comes with a 7 days return policy and 2 years warranty.