This case has been developed from both secondary and primary sources. Primary sources included an interview with a co-founder of Cars24 and discussions with company personnel. The secondary sources include the company website, media coverage and analyst reports. These reports provided inputs for this case. Independent market studies and regulatory filings were used to triangulate facts and information.
Cars24 was founded in India in 2015 when the country had a low motorization level. Buying a vehicle, specifically a car, had always been a status symbol in India. The used car industry was fragmented. The organized sector was just 12% of the market (see Case Exhibit 4). Buyers could purchase used cars from a dealer with value-added services like car ownership paper transfer, finance and insurance or from a known person. The Indian used car market was supply-constrained, and existing dealers had lived with this problem. Cars24 had realized this difficulty, so when they entered the industry, their first move was to handle the supply side of the business. They aimed to secure the supply of cars to build a robust business model. A hungry dealer market would get the supply of the used car, and the sellers would get an unparalleled selling experience. By the end of FY19, Cars24 had the most extensive network for used cars in India. In 2020, it entered the Unicorn Club. Cars24, a used car industry entrant, had unlocked demand and became an industry leader with a blend of “disruptive” and “nondisruptive” growth. Their next strategic move was to convert buying and selling of used cars into a retail business. Online purchases were on the rise in India due to internet penetration, and Cars24 borrowed the idea from the e-commerce industry to design its retail business vertical. In 2020, due to COVID-19, trust in online channels and the demand for personal vehicles increased, which developed into an opportunity for Cars24. It seized this new opportunity to expand market boundaries by selling used cars online.
Their results for 2022 reported INR 51bn approximately as revenue from operations. Vikram Chopra (founder and CEO) recognized that while losses of Cars24 had reduced as compared to the previous year, concerns remained on cash usage and on making the business sustainable. This would entail continuing to increase the scale of operations, strengthen cash generation and finally move closer to registering profits. The team, led by Chopra, got together on October 17, 2022, for a long day of brainstorming on the performance of the firm for the year 2021–2022 and to discuss the critical next steps. It was time to go back to the drawing board to consider new strategic moves toward growth and profitability and to review the cost structure.
This case is intended primarily for graduate-level management programs, including Master of Business Administration (MBA). This case can be used in Strategic Management, Blue Ocean Strategy and Entrepreneurship courses. It can also be used as a capstone segment in a Blue Ocean Strategy course. If used as a module in a Strategy Management or Entrepreneurship course, the instructor may wish to use a session ahead of the case to introduce the class to the frameworks to be applied.
