CarDekho: Built With Precision To have a successful business, one does not have to start in cities like Bangalore, Delhi, says, Amit Jain, CEO and co founder, CarDekho

"Our love for cars led me and my brother Anurag Jain to the Auto Expo in 2008, where we were surprised by the limited product information available. This experience and a gap inspired us to establish the CarDekho Group, which has evolved into a conglomerate of thriving companies in various verticals," said Amit Jain, CEO and co founder, CarDekho

To have a successful business, one does not have to start in cities like Bangalore, Delhi, etc.It's the founders and their intent that run the business. The journey began in 2008 with the establishment of an online car review portal in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Over time, the group transformed into a comprehensive platform that offers a range of auto and non-auto solutions.

The group now comprises multiple brands, including CarDekho.com, Rupyy, InsuranceDekho, ZigWheels.com, BikeDekho.com, and PowerDrift.com. "Our vision was to build a billion-dollar IT-based company and our efforts yielded fruitful results. CarDekho emerged as a profitable venture, despite facing challenges in a market previously dominated by new cars and offline players in the used car segment," he added.

CarDekho, being a startup, had to face several challenges in its entrepreneurial journey. Some of the main challenges faced by the company were establishing the brand in the market, team building, getting organic traffic on the website, "Through our continuous innovation and adaptation to market dynamics, CarDekho Group has successfully established itself as a key player in the digital automotive solutions industry in India with 62 million active users per month," Jain said.

CarDekho Group has a significant presence both in India and overseas. It has expanded presence beyond India in FY16 and ventured into international markets. "We established operations in Indonesia and Philippines & Malaysia through our 100 per cent subsidiaries namely OTO and Carmudi respectively. In Indonesia we currently hold a considerable 8.5 per cent market share in the aggregation of used car loans."

The inception of CarDekho from Japiur was beneficial for the group as a startup. "A small town has a lower rental fee and since it is our hometown, strategy and planning was rather easier for us. This is the reason we were able to be bootstrapped until 2013 for five years from the time of inception and did not look out for external funding. The only few challenges were from the industry's point of view and hiring the right team who has the same vision. CarDekho was one of the first on the market, and it was crucial for us to educate the audience about the business," he recalls.

Fact sheet:

*Year of inception of the company - 2008
*Turnover for FY 2022-23 - 1,598 crore
*No. of employees - 5000
*Head office location - Jaipur