CarTrade Acquires Rival CarWale

Online auto classified platform CarTrade has acquired rival CarWale from leading European digital publisher Axel Springer for an undisclosed amount.

This is seen as the largest consolidation in the segment, according to industry experts.

While CarTrade has a clear focus on used cars, CarWale's primary strength in new vehicles. The merged business aims to become a leading player in both new and used cars.

The two companies have over 3.2 crore combined visits in a month, work with about 9,000 new and used car dealer partners and connect car manufacturers with car buyers, a statement from CarTrade said.

The platforms list more then 2.25 lakh used cars for sale. The Internet today is the single largest source of consumers for car dealers and CarTrade and CarWale jointly contribute a majority of all online sales to car dealers and car OEMs.

"We firmly believe that the combination of CarTrade and CarWale will further strengthen our leadership in the new and used cars space. We can now direct our joint resources towards developing better products to enhance user experience," CarTrade's founder and chief executive Vinay Sanghi said.

The investors in CarTrade include Warburg Pincus, JP Morgan, March Capital and Epiphany ventures.