China C2C used car platform Guazi raises $400m

It is said to be the largest Series B round in China’s online used car trading space. A handful of new investors including H Capital, a PE fund managed by CMB International, West Fund (which is backed by Chinese steelmaker Shougang Group), and Dragoneer Investment Group came into the round. Existing backers BlueRun Ventures, Matrix Partners C, ina and Hike Capital also re-upped.

Beijing-based Guazi was set up in 2014 by online marketplace Ganji.com, which merged with its competitor 58.com the following year. A few months later, 58.com decided to spin off Guazi.com into an independent entity. It then raised $250 million in Series A funding, with Sequoia, GX Capital, and Welight Capital among the backers. Following that deal, 58.com held a 34% stake in Guazi.

Guazi directly links individual car sellers and buyers. To build credibility and increase buyer confidence, the company only lists cars that have been certified by its in-house technicians. It also provides after-sales services to customers, including vehicle financing and auto insurance.

At present, Guazi’s services cover more than 200 cities in China, with 6,000 employees supporting its offline operations. The company claims to be the country's largest used-car online transaction platform in terms of monthly app downloads and PC usage. As of March, the Guazi app was installed on 4.16 million mobile devices.

The latest round of funding will be used to expand into new business lines as well as for product and service upgrades, brand building, and recruitment.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Technology
• Early-stage
• Consumer
• Expansion
• China
• TMT
• Venture
• automobiles
• H Capital
• Sequoia Capital
• Matrix Partners
• BlueRun Ventures