Cars24 raises Dh75m loan from Dubai bank

The company, valued at $1.8 billion, is one of the most valuable privately held pre-owned car startups globally.

Cars24, an e-commerce platform for pre-owned vehicles, has announced that it has raised Dh75 million in local debt funding from Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD).

The agreement was signed between Dr Bernd van Linder, CEO of CBD and Vikram Chopra, co-founder and global CEO, CARS24. The company, valued at $1.8 billion, is one of the most valuable privately held pre-owned car startups globally. This debt funding follows the company’s global $450 million funding round in September this year.

Dr. Bernd van Linder, Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Bank of Dubai said, “CBD has always been keen to enhance the overall business environment in the UAE and support start-ups as they are a vital contributor to the growth of the country’s economy. Since last year, there has been a huge increase in the number of online2offline businesses, partially due to the recent global pandemic, and we see a clear need to back these businesses and provide them with the funds they require to scale up and expand.”

After signing this agreement, Vikram stated that, “UAE is a very important and strategic market for us. Raising these funds from CBD at this juncture will further consolidate our leadership position and as a brand we are delighted that the bank has supported our business model.”

— waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com