Carmudi,?a car classified site backed by Rocket Internet, has raised $25 million to strengthen its operations in Asia and Latin America.
Investors include Asia Pacific Internet Group?(APACIG), a joint venture of?Rocket Internet?and Ooredoo, Holtzbrinck Ventures, a leading consumer internet investor, Tengelmann Ventures, a division of international multi-sector retailer Tengelmann Group, and a private investor.
Launched in October 2013, Carmudi has scaled up to 20 countries, seven of which are in Asia (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam) and one in Latin America (Mexico).
The company said the announcement of this funding comes at a time when the firm is experiencing a growth of over 50% in all its markets and has authentic listings of over 300,000 vehicles for its users globally. ?
?This funding will be crucial in boosting our operations in Asia and Latin America. Our goal is to be the No.1 car classified platform in all our markets. There are over 300 million active internet users that we are aiming to tap into in these markets. We want to make sure that we bring them the best experience of car shopping on their laptops and mobile phones,? said Stefan Haubold, Carmudi co-founder and global managing director.
The company said with Internet penetration likely to reach 44% by 2018 in Asia Pacific region alone (excluding China and India), Carmudi?s strategic timing could not have been better.
