CARS24, one of the leading e-commerce platforms for pre-owned vehicles has announced that it is set to invest close to AED367 million ($100 million) in the UAE and GCC countries. 

 

The company will be utilising these funds to create one of the largest and sophisticated refurbishment hubs in the region, which will also help in creating more job opportunities in the UAE and other markets. 

 

“We are delighted to deepen our roots in UAE, one of the most progressive and technologically advanced nations in the world. Technology is at the heart of everything that we do at CARS24, and the country’s tech-focused vision deeply resonates with us. The company aims to shoulder the government’s vision of creating a state-of-the-art technology ecosystem, by taking the entire car-buying process online. This we believe is the future. A significant portion of these funds therefore will also be directed towards scaling up the organisation’s technological framework,” stated Abhinav Gupta, CEO, Gulf Region, CARS24.

 

Over the years the company has made car buying as easy and simple as shopping for clothes, books, or food online. A customer in the UAE can browse through an array of cars on the CARS24 platform, identify, and book their favourite car, complete the full payment and documentation process, and get the car home delivered. 

 

As a result, just within five months, the company was able to sell close to 1,000 plus cars and 100% of these transactions were conducted entirely online.

 

Vehicles on the CARS24 platform undergo a 150+ point 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. 

 

With regard to CARS24’s commitment to the market and the region, Gupta stated: “UAE auto market is getting modernised and CARS24 is proud to say that it will continue to play a significant role in this transformation. We want to ensure that all the customers that purchase cars from us are completely at ease when they are making this investment online.  We are present with them right through the journey and this relationship continues even after they have bought the car.” 

 

“Today, we have a massive assortment of cars and more importantly, we own these cars. Looking at our past growth curve since May this year and with our current investment plans, CARS24 is well poised to scale an even higher growth trajectory by the end of 2021,” he said.

 

Furthermore, consumers in UAE are known to change their cars within 3 to 4 years on an average as compared to the rest of the world, where people change cars every 8 to 9 years. 

 

“Over the last few months, we have seen people replacing their cars with most customers looking for an upgrade through the pre-owned car market. As per published reports, a major percentage of consumers in the UAE market still preferred Japanese and Korean brands followed by American and European cars. Sedan remains the preferred choice for a more affordable segment which is below AED50,000. On the other hand, the demand for SUVs has grown much higher than pre-pandemic levels. Close to 40 percent of the market still remains under the AED50,000 budget, while the AED50,000 to AED100,000 segment has grown and now accounts for 30% share which is powered more by the demand for SUVs,” concluded Gupta.-- TradeArabia News Service