Now Reading: Used-car startups Cars24, Spinny, Droom chase profits, diversify
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Used-car startups Cars24, Spinny, Droom chase profits, diversify
Used-car startups Cars24, Spinny, Droom chase profits, diversify
India's used-car startups, including Cars24, Spinny and Droom, are entering new segments and forging partnerships to pursue stable revenue and profit growth a decade after emerging, as profitability remains elusive. SoftBank-backed Cars24…
The Story in Brief
India's used-car startups, including Cars24, Spinny and Droom, are entering new segments and forging partnerships to pursue stable revenue and profit growth a decade after emerging, as profitability remains elusive. SoftBank-backed Cars24 is expanding into personal loans and credit-score services via AI, while Spinny partners with OEMs to build a certified pre-owned EV ecosystem.
The used-car market is dominated by unorganised local players, which account for 79% of transactions per a Redseer report. Droom's valuation has slumped from $1.2 billion to $360 million since 2021, and its workforce nearly halved to 69 employees. Cars24 reported a 27% revenue jump to Rs 1,411 crore in FY26 but Ebitda loss narrowed only 36% to Rs 357 crore.
The Indian Opinion
The narrative that used-car startups are innovating for growth masks a harder truth: they are running out of investor patience. EY-Parthenon's Som Kapoor rightly notes the need for sharper cost control. Droom's layoffs and Cars24's job cuts show the unorganised sector's grip is not loosening fast. The real test is whether AI and loans can narrow losses faster than inventory eats cash. Watch Cars24's Ebitda margin in FY27, if it stays negative, diversification is a lifeline, not a strategy.
Source: livemint.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
