Cars24 shuts down outlets in Delhi, addressing 'anomalies'

As consumption slowdown and liquidity crunch hit the auto industry including the second-hand car market, Gurugram-based online used car marketplace Cars24 has reportedly shut down a dozen stores in the national capital, saying it is in the process of "addressing anomalies".

Cars24 said on Saturday it was in the process of addressing "anomalies observed with a few properties" after the media reported on Friday that half-a-dozen landlords in Delhi sent legal notices to the Sequoia-funded platform for allegedly not paying rents for months and shutting down outlets in violation of lease agreements.

They alleged that Cars24 ended leases before the lock-in period was over. 

"We conduct periodic internal audit of all properties for compliance and are currently in the process of addressing anomalies observed with a few properties in our recent audit," Gajendra Jangid, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer, CARS24, told IANS.

"As a company, we are rapidly growing and expanding our operations immensely across India and our services can be availed in more than 35 cities at over 150 branches," Jangid added. 

Including the retail branches, parking and offices, the number of properties Cars24 operates in the country is around 200.

"We are planning to be present in 70 cities with 230 branches by 2019," Jangid said, adding that the platform has secured trust of over 10,000 channel partners from more 230 cities who are registered on its platform.

The company was founded in 2015 by Vikram Chopra and Mehul Agrawal to change the way used cars are sold in India. IANS