After electric scooter, Ola wants to sell used cars online

Bengaluru: Ride-hailing startup Ola is likely to enter retailing of used cars, a segment that is growing fast as consumers look for affordable personal mobility amid the pandemic.

The business will likely be called Ola Cars, a person with knowledge of the plan said, requesting anonymity. “If one has a car to sell, they can use Ola’s platform to do so. Ola plans to ensure the cars are in good condition before they are sold,” the person said.

The person was not able to comment on whether a separate app would be built for the used-cars business or the feature be added to the existing Ola app.

Ola has started building a team for Ola Cars. The company is expected to start a pilot project in Bengaluru this month, Entrackr reported a few days ago. People ET spoke to confirmed the plan.

The company declined to comment.

“More value, less hassle—selling your car made easy,” read a Facebook post dated July 21, created by an account named “Ola Cars”.

The Indian used-car market is expected to be worth $70.8 billion in 2030 from $18.3 billion in 2020, clocking a compounded annual growth rate of 14.8%, ETAuto reported in May, citing a study by market research firm P&S Intelligence.

India’s second-hand car market is highly fragmented and mostly unorganised, but several startups — such as CarDekho, Cars24, Droom, Spinny and CarTrade — have entered the business in recent years. Among these, Droom recently raised $200 million in a pre-IPO funding round, while Spinny raised $108 million in Series D funding.

Ola is also planning an IPO. Last month, Warburg Pincus and Singapore-based Temasek bought shares worth $500 million from existing investors of Ola in a secondary deal.

The cab-hailing company is also expanding into other businesses. Its Ola Electric unit is manufacturing electric scooters at a 500-acre site in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu. The factory is expected to have an annual capacity of 10 million vehicles.

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