LAHORE:Â OLX, an online classified platform, has announced an $89 million global investment in the Series C funding round of the Berlin-based Frontier Car Group (FCG), the parent company of the online auto marketplace, CarFirst, operating in Pakistan.
OLX and CarFirst are expected to formally announce the development, in a press conference to be held in a local hotel in Lahore on Wednesday, 30 May.
FCG, founded in April 2016, currently has a presence in Nigeria, Mexico, Chile, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan. The company develops, launches, and operates used-automotive marketplaces within emerging market economies aimed at increasing the efficiency of selling and buying cars through technology, infrastructure creation, access to capital and innovative business models that allow all stakeholders to gain from its impact.
Less than a month ago, the CarFirst parent company raised $58 million- $41 million in equity and $17 million in debt funding in its Series B funding round led by TPG Growth and Balderton Capital.
On the other hand, OLX until now has been struggling to capture a substantial market share of the online car marketplace in Pakistan, with stiff competition coming from local players like PakWheels. Recently, the company filed a complaint with the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) accusing PakWheels of copyright infringement a move claimed by PakWheels as a sign of OLX’s desperation. For its part, OLX claims that it is only trying to protect the massive million dollar investment it has made in marketing over the past few years.
Currently, OLX deals in 14 different categories listed on its website, ranging from cars to real estate, bikes, mobile phones, and pets. With its new partnership with CarFirst, the company now looks to give stiff competition to existing players in the online car marketplace in Pakistan and increase its footprint in the market.
