OLX Group invests USD 89 million in Frontier Car Group
Amsterdam, 24th May 2018
OLX Group, today announced it has invested USD 89 million through its early-stage investment arm OLX Ventures, in the C series funding round of online car marketplace Frontier Car Group (FCG). The startup, headquartered in Berlin and currently operating in six countries, will use the funds, as well as access to OLX Group’s global footprint in high-growth markets, to fuel its expansion into new territories and enhance its instant cash services for users.
FCG was founded in 2016 and in recent years has launched and grown the largest online and offline used car marketplaces in the high-growth markets where they operate. With brands such as VendeTuAuto in Mexico, BeliMobilGue in Indonesia, and CarFirst in Pakistan, FCG has provided consumers and fleets a way to sell their vehicles instantly for a fair price, while driving supply and financing opportunities to a vast dealer network nationwide. It is expected to transact over USD 250 million of vehicles in 2018.
The combination of FCG’s instant cash services and OLX Group’s proprietary classifieds technology will provide car sellers and dealers with industry-leading products. Private sellers of used cars will now be able to sell their vehicle through either OLX Group classifieds or FCG’s “guaranteed buy” service, increasing both the convenience and speed of selling. Meanwhile, FCG’s dealer base will benefit from proprietary access to OLX Group’s platforms, being able to sell their portfolio faster and more efficiently.
“Our mission at OLX Group is to make it super easy for users to buy or sell almost anything. When it comes to cars, FCG will help us to do just that, offering a more convenient service to our car sellers and buyers around the world,” said Martin Scheepbouwer, OLX Group CEO. “Convenience is the future of classifieds and we will drive it.”
“The growth we’ve seen since our foundation in 2016 is testament to a market ripe for disruption. As we look to grow further and lead the digitization of the automotive sales sector, this partnership provides us with the platform and global presence that we need to become the leading used car marketplace across high-growth markets” said Sujay Tyle, CEO, Frontier Car Group.
About OLX Group
OLX Group is a global product and tech company which operates a network of market-leading trading platforms in over 40 countries.
With more than 330 million monthly users worldwide, OLX Group makes it super easy for anyone to buy and sell almost anything, such as household goods, phones, cars and houses, fueling local economies. Through consumer brands including Avito, dubizzle, letgo, OLX, and many dozen others, more than 15 million things are exchanged on its apps and platforms every single month.
OLX Group is part of Naspers, one of the biggest technology investors in the world. It is powered by a team of 5,000 people, operating from +30 offices across five continents.
About Frontier Car Group
Frontier Car Group is a Berlin-based startup founded in 2016. It is led by 24-year old co-founder and CEO Sujay Tyle, who previously was on the founding team of Hired.com; former Millicom investment and strategy director Peter Lindholm; former Auto1 Director of Engineering, Andre Kussmann; former Avito COO, Eyass Shakrah; and former Celmedia and Azumi co-founder, Ricardo Donoso. FCG develops, launches, and operates used-automotive marketplaces within high-growth market economies, with operations in Nigeria, Mexico, Chile, Turkey, Pakistan, and Indonesia. It increases the efficiency of selling and buying cars through technology, infrastructure creation, access to capital and innovative business models that allows all stakeholders to gain from its impact. FCG has raised a total of USD 150 million of equity capital since its inception just two years ago.