OLX Group to invest $400m in Cars45 parent body, Frontier Car Group

Prosus company, OLX Group, has announced its intention to invest $400 million in Frontier Car Group (FCG), making it the company’s largest shareholder. OLX first invested US$89M in FCG in 2018, providing capital for the Berlin-based start-up to enhance its services and expand to new geographies, including the acquisition of WeBuyAnyCar in the United States.

The new investment comprises a primary injection of capital in FCG and the contribution of OLX’s joint-venture shares in India and Poland, as well as the acquisition of shares held by other investors, founders and management, subject to a tender offer process.

Frontier Car Group is a Berlin-based startup who develops, launches, and operates used-automotive marketplaces within emerging market economies, with operations in Nigeria, Mexico, Chile, Pakistan, and Indonesia. They own the brand Cars45.

Through FCG, car dealers have access to a wider range of inventory, proprietary inspection reports, floor-plan financing, pricing guides and other innovative services; while sellers are offered a suite of new services such as “guaranteed buy”, inspection, financing and a large number of ancillary offerings, such as warranties and insurance. OLX offers dealers and sellers a convenient, reputable, and widely known listing service to buy and sell used cars around the globe.

Fully integrating the two companies will allow for faster expansion while improving and increasing the services available to buyers and sellers, setting a new industry benchmark for the used car trade. Dealers will benefit from improved intelligence via a Dealership Management System, an enhanced re-sale capability via OLX, and provenance and pricing data via CarFax and Blue Book-style products. Sellers will also gain a new range of ways to sell their used cars in a trusted and transparent manner.

Martin Scheepbouwer, CEO of OLX Group, said: “Together with FCG, we are aiming to build the leading global used car marketplace, offering a premium and convenient service to millions of car buyers, sellers and dealers. We’re in a unique position to accelerate the expansion of this platform worldwide. Our experience in India is a great proof of concept, where within the space of a year, our joint venture has already increased the number of stores threefold, with car purchase volumes continuing to grow by 10% month-on-month.”

Sujay Tyle, the 26-year-old co-founder and CEO of Frontier Car Group, said: “FCG has nearly tripled performance across every key metric since the first OLX Group investment less than 18 months ago and has expanded to four new countries in that time. This is a testament to FCG’s team, the ripe market opportunity, and the results of early integration with OLX in our key markets. Together with OLX and Prosus, we are aiming to revolutionize the used car market in several emerging and developed economies by adding trust, transparency and a comprehensive suite of services to all participants in the ecosystem”.

Frontier Car Group is a Berlin-based startup who develop, launch, and operate used-automotive marketplaces within emerging market economies, with operations in Nigeria, Mexico, Chile, Pakistan, and Indonesia