Used-car marketplace CARS24 has acquired vehicle information and management platform CarInfo, marking a significant step in the company’s evolution from a transaction-led marketplace to a full-stack automotive ownership platform. The acquisition is CARS24’s second in under a year, following its takeover of the automotive community platform Team-BHP in April 2025, and signals a clear intent to deepen user engagement beyond buying and selling vehicles.

While the financial terms of the deal have not been officially disclosed by the company, MediaNama was the first to report that the acquisition consideration stood at Rs 118 crore, citing regulatory filings. With CarInfo and its companion app BikeInfo now joining the CARS24 ecosystem, the company is positioning itself squarely in the high-frequency, everyday vehicle management space—an area that affects car and bike owners far more often than vehicle transactions.

What CarInfo Brings to the CARS24 Ecosystem

Founded to simplify access to fragmented vehicle data, CarInfo has built its reputation as a practical utility for Indian vehicle owners. The platform allows users to instantly access critical vehicle-related information such as:

• Registration details

• Insurance validity

• Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) status

• Pending challans

• FASTag information

• Other compliance-related records

For millions of vehicle owners, these documents and data points are scattered across government portals, insurers, and service providers, often making routine compliance unnecessarily stressful. CarInfo addresses this problem by bringing everything into one easily accessible interface, reducing both time and cognitive effort for users.

CARS24 founder and CEO Vikram Chopra highlighted this everyday pain point while announcing the acquisition, noting that most vehicle ownership issues arise not from catastrophic failures but from simple oversights—expired insurance, missed pollution certificates, or inaccessible records.

“Vehicle management for cars and bikes has remained complex as information is scattered across systems,” Chopra said. “CarInfo was built around a very practical insight — making vehicle information instantly accessible while reducing cognitive load, so owners could get what they need easily.”

CarInfo’s Growth Story: Steady Utility Over Hype

CarInfo’s journey has been defined less by viral growth and more by consistent, long-term utility. Founded by Saajid Mani and his team—with other reports attributing its early leadership to Sahil Ajmani, who launched the platform in 2019—the app has scaled steadily over the years.

Today, CarInfo serves more than 12 million monthly active users, a milestone achieved by solving recurring, real-world problems rather than chasing short-term adoption spikes. Chopra described the platform as a product that “played the long game,” becoming a habitual tool for everyday vehicle management rather than a one-time-use service.

Importantly, CarInfo and BikeInfo will continue to operate as standalone apps with their existing teams intact. This mirrors CARS24’s approach with Team-BHP, where independence and brand identity were preserved while benefiting from the parent company’s technological and financial backing.

Why This Acquisition Matters for CARS24

CARS24 began its journey in 2015 as an auction-led marketplace that helped individual car owners sell vehicles to dealers. Founded by Vikram Chopra, Gajendra Jangid, Ruchit Agarwal, and Mehul Agrawal, the company has since expanded aggressively across multiple touchpoints in the automotive value chain.

Over time, CARS24 added:

• Direct used-car buying and selling

• Vehicle inspections

• RC transfers

• Financing and insurance support

• Warranties and post-sale services

More recently, the company entered the new car market, offering vehicle discovery, comparisons, and assisted buying services. While margins in new car sales are typically lower than in the used-car segment, the move allows CARS24 to engage customers earlier in their ownership journey, long before resale becomes relevant.

The CarInfo acquisition fits squarely into this broader strategy. Vehicle purchases are infrequent events, but ownership compliance and documentation are ongoing needs. By addressing these high-frequency use cases, CARS24 can keep users engaged year-round rather than only at the point of sale.

From Transactions to the Full Ownership Lifecycle

The acquisition reflects CARS24’s ambition to own the entire vehicle lifecycle, from discovery and purchase to daily ownership and eventual resale. By integrating CarInfo’s compliance and information services, the company is extending its footprint into areas where users interact with their vehicles far more regularly.

This strategy builds on the acquisition of Team-BHP, one of India’s most respected automotive community forums. Known for its strict moderation and non-commercial ethos, Team-BHP was retained as an independent platform, with CARS24 providing technology support and long-term investment.

Together, Team-BHP and CarInfo represent two sides of the same engagement strategy: one focused on content and community, the other on utility and compliance. Both are high-retention, high-trust platforms that keep users connected well beyond transactional moments.

Financial Context and Scale of Operations

The CarInfo acquisition comes at a time when CARS24 is continuing to scale its core operations while preparing for a potential public market listing. The company is reportedly aiming to go public within the next 12 to 18 months, seeking to capitalise on India’s rapidly growing used-car market.

In FY24, CARS24:

• Sold over two lakh cars

• Reported revenue of approximately Rs 6,917–7,000 crore, representing 25% year-on-year growth

However, the company’s net loss widened to Rs 498 crore, driven by sustained investments in technology, data infrastructure, and customer experience. CARS24 is yet to file its FY25 financials.

To strengthen its balance sheet and support working capital needs, the company raised Rs 345.2 crore in August last year from its Singapore-based parent entity, Global Car Group Limited. This followed an earlier Rs 250 crore infusion from the same parent.

Strategic Restructuring and Focus on Core Businesses

In parallel with its expansion efforts, CARS24 has undertaken significant operational restructuring to sharpen its focus ahead of a public listing. As part of this process, the company shut or scaled down several non-core verticals.

These included:

• Closing its B2B spare parts platform Inspare

• Winding down consumer-facing operations of its car servicing platform FourDoor

• Scaling back its driver hiring service AutoPilot

The restructuring led to layoffs affecting over 300 employees, underscoring the company’s shift toward profitability, efficiency, and core platform strength.

Global Footprint and Market Position

CARS24 operates across India, Australia, the UAE, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, giving it a diversified geographic presence. While India remains its largest and most competitive market, this international footprint provides resilience and long-term growth opportunities.

The broader used-car and automotive services sector in India is also entering a phase of consolidation. Competitor Spinny is reportedly set to acquire car-servicing platform GoMechanic, highlighting a wider industry trend toward building integrated automotive ecosystems rather than standalone services.

A Bet on Everyday Ownership, Not Just Sales

With CarInfo now part of its portfolio, CARS24 is making a clear bet: that solving routine ownership pain points—rather than focusing solely on transactions—will anchor users to its platform over the long term.

By combining:

• New car discovery

• Used car transactions

• Ownership utilities like compliance tracking and documentation

• Community-led content and engagement

CARS24 is positioning itself as a single destination for Indian vehicle owners, covering everything from purchase and paperwork to ongoing management and eventual resale.

As competition in India’s auto-tech market intensifies, the ability to stay relevant between purchases may prove just as important as facilitating the sale itself. The CarInfo acquisition suggests that CARS24 understands this shift—and is building accordingly.

With inputs from agencies

Image Source: Multiple agencies

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