China’s Guazi raises additional $180m for Series B
Guazi, an online consumer-to-consumer (C2C) used car trading platform that spun out from US-listed Chinese classifieds site 58.com, has raised another $180 million to close its Series B round at $600 million.
The company raised an initial Series B round of $400 million in June, led by existing investor Sequoia Capital China. DST Global, Capital Today China Group, and Bank of China Group Investment co-led the second tranche of funding, with participation from Sequoia, H Capital, and other existing shareholders.
Following the new round, Guazi has rebranded itself as Che Hao Duo Group. In addition to C2C used car platform Guazi, the group operates new car retail platform Maodou. Launched last year, Maodou currently partners with 24 car manufacturers, such as China Chang’an Automobile Group, SAIC Volkswagen and Infiniti, to sell new vehicles and provide auto financing to car buyers.
The group plans to use the fresh funding to expand Maodou’s platform, with a view to reaching a similar scale to Guazi, Haoyong Yang, CEO of Che Hao Duo, told local media. It will also develop big data and artificial intelligence technology to help auto manufacturers increase sales through its platform.
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 connects individual car sellers and buyers. To build credibility and increase buyer confidence, it only lists vehicles that have been certified by in-house technicians. In addition, the company 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.
The Guazi investment follows an announcement by used car trading platform Tiantian Paiche that it had raised $80 million from investors such as Industrial Bank of China, bringing its Series C round to $180 million.
More on Greater China
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.