Used car sales platform Cars24 has laid off approximately 200 employees across various functions, including product and technology, as the company scaled back on select projects, Entrackr reported citing an internal note from co-founder and CEO Vikram Chopra.
“Over the past few weeks, we’ve had to make the difficult decision to part ways with around 200 of our teammates across various functions,” Chopra wrote. “Some projects didn’t deliver as expected, some roles were added too early, and a few hypotheses didn’t hold up when tested. In certain cases, we couldn’t offer the kind of growth or learning people truly deserve.”
The layoffs come as the SoftBank-backed firm expands into new business verticals. Earlier this week, it announced the acquisition of Team-BHP, one of India’s leading automotive community platforms.
Chopra emphasized that no further layoffs are planned, calling this a “specific, intentional reset, not the beginning of a rolling plan.” He also confirmed that severance support is being provided to affected employees.
Rising Competition in Used Car Space
The development comes amid rising competition in the used car market. Rival platform Spinny recently raised $131 million from Accel’s Leadership Fund, positioning itself for aggressive growth.
Over the past year, Cars24 has diversified its operations. In addition to acquiring Team-BHP, which will continue to function independently, the company launched Fourdoor, a multi-brand car servicing business, and a 'New Cars' platform featuring AI-powered walkthroughs and home test drives. The firm also expanded into Indonesia, committing $100 million to scale operations in Southeast Asia.
Funding & Financial Performance
Cars24 has not raised fresh capital in over three years, last securing $450 million in December 2021 from investors including SoftBank, Tencent, DST Global, and Alpha Wave, valuing the firm at $3.3 billion.
According to TheKredible, DST Global holds the largest external stake in Cars24, followed by KCK Ltd. Other key investors include Alpha Wave, Peak XV, and Tencent.
While Cars24 is yet to file its FY25 results, the company reported ₹6,917 crore in revenue for FY24, a 25% increase from ₹5,530 crore in FY23. However, it posted a net loss of ₹498 crore and an adjusted EBITDA loss of ₹318 crore for the same period.
