Chehaoduo (means “many cars” in Chinese), a Beijing, China-based online car trading company, has raised $1.5 billion from SoftBank’s Vision Fund. And Chehaoduo runs two services, including peer-to-peer online marketplace Guazi for used vehicles and Maodou for new vehicles.
With this funding round, Chehaoduo is to make technology investments and develop new products and services. And the company will be ramping up marketing and open up new physical stores, which the company believes will help build trust with consumers who are used to meeting dealers in person. Currently, Chehaoduo runs 600 offline stores nationwide that supports new and used car deals.
Over the past three years, Chehaoduo has become the leading platform for integrated automotive retail services in the used car sector. And the company has also reduced the barriers for purchasing new cars for consumers.
Photo: Guazi Store
“The global automotive industry is experiencing unprecedented change and with this change comes great opportunities. The application of big data and artificial intelligence is the key to fundamental reform of automotive retail in China,” said Chehaoduo Group CEO Mark Yang. “Our vision is to help families in China to be able to own a better car. The support of the Vision Fund not only strengthens the (Chehaoduo’s) capital base, but also has the potential to boost our big data and AI innovation capabilities, which can be applied to the whole automotive retail value chain. In the future, the infrastructure and service of the entire sector will be significantly reconstructed by data technology innovation, promoting continuous improvements in service efficiency and consumer experience,”
This investment round values Chehaoduo at more than $9 billion, according to Bloomberg. Chehaoduo is also backed by Chinese online media company Tencent Holdings. Chehaoduo’s rivals include Uxin and Souche.
“China’s used car market is growing rapidly but online penetration remains low and auto financing is underutilized compared to developed markets. In just three years, Chehaoduo Group, through the Guazi brand, has leveraged the latest innovations in data-driven technology to establish China’s leading car trading platform,” added SoftBank Investment Advisers partner Eric Chen. “The company has a bold vision with technology at its center to underpin an industry network that will support transformative growth of the market.”
