CARS24: Transforming the business of buying and selling cars in the UAE

What is the CARS24 business model?

CARS24 has transformed the way consumers buy and sell cars. We are an e-commerce platform that is leveraging technology at every phase of the consumer journey to solve genuine pain points and deliver a WOW experience.

The persona of today’s consumer has evolved and the widely accepted process of buying a car is outdated, tedious and tiresome, and definitely doesn’t resonate with them.

The future of car buying has shifted entirely online as it allows consumers to buy what they like; and what they like is what they get on CARS24. We want to encourage the customers to embrace the simplicity and convenience of buying their next car entirely online. CARS24 wants to be the Amazon of cars, betting that you will buy a car online the same way you buy a smartphone or book.

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

We look forward to continuing our mission of delivering the best car buying experience for consumers by providing better selection, quality, transparency, convenience and peace of mind making it no different to buying any other product online today.

Why did you choose the UAE as your next stop for international expansion?

The UAE is known across the globe for its appetite for cars, and for early adoption of technology across industries. The growing population, and the fact that most UAE families have an average of two cars, makes this market an interesting playground for CARS24. We are here to cater to the needs of car lovers and have invested heavily in technology to ensure that they can buy cars with a click of a button. We aim to offer our customers an easy, seamless, and transparent car buying experience.

In the last 6 years, we have worked very hard to revolutionise the way our consumers buy or sell their cars in India. Interestingly, the pain points of pre-owned car consumers across the globe remain pervasive.

The opportunity in the Middle East, stands at $40 billion, almost double as compared to India. We want to build a large auto company out of India which will dominate the pre-owned car space globally. This is the aspiration with which we decided to step out of India.

How easy or difficult is it to grow internationally?

The challenging part was that we couldn’t travel anywhere, and everything had to be done virtually. After a few weeks into the pandemic, we realised that this is not going to end that early. The flights were not operating in all the places and even if we took a flight to Dubai, we had to be quarantined. Hence, we couldn’t just keep going back and forth. However, in terms of people and culture, Dubai is like an extension of India. Since there are many Indians, it felt much easier to connect, so we sent a few people from here and hired many locals as well.

Do you think the pre-owned cars segment will ever overtake the brand-new car segment?

The Used Car to New Car ratio is 3.5:1 in UAE.

What do you think differentiates CARS24 from others?

Valued at a billion dollars, we are a six-year-old established e-commerce platform conceived with the idea to disrupt the used car market with customer centricity at the core. We have invested heavily in building a robust technology framework and as a result have become one of the first companies in the UAE to provide a seamless car buying experience entirely online.

A customer can browse through thousands of cars, identify and book their favourite car, complete the full payment and documentation process, and get the car home delivered. CARS24 has made car buying as easy and simple as shopping for groceries online.

What are your future plans with regard to overseas expansion? Are you looking at other GCC countries as well?

Currently, CARS24 is shipping cars to customers across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah and is ready to launch business in Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern countries later this year.