C2C used-car trading platform Guazi.com has completed a 200 million USD financing round, according to an internal letter cited by Chinese media from the company’s CEO Yang Haoyong. He added that the final size of this round is expected to reach $250 million USD at a valuation of over $1 billion USD.
In the letter, the company claims to have recorded a daily sales of 1,027 cars on March 10 with a turnover of 83.72 million RMB (around $12.9 million USD). Over the past 16 months, Guazi has entered 75 cities around the country with support from 4,000 employees, according to Mr. Yang’s internal letter.
With the new funding, the Beijing-based firm plans to expand to 120 cities in 2016, improve car valuation systems, and strengthen cooperation with more partners.
Guazi.com was established by online classifieds site Ganji.com, which later merged with rival online classifieds site 58.com. The used car trading platform was then separated from the consortium to facilitate faster growth.
Yang Haoyong, the founder of Ganji, was appointed as chairman and CEO of Guazi, holding a controlling stake in the company with an investment of $60 million dollars. Following the capital injection, 58 and Ganji Group retain an estimated 46% stake in Guazi.
Second-hand car trading is one of the traditional industries Chinese internet companies are poised to disrupt. The rising market has attracted a slew of players includes Cheyipai, Youxinpai and Renrenche.