Chehaoduo

Founded in 2014 by serial entrepreneur Yang Haoyong, Chehaoduo runs the used-car marketplace Guazi and Maodou, a dealership for new cars. Its online platform uses artificial intelligence to help customers compare pricing, choose financing and register for after-market services such as insurance, repair and maintenance.

Since 2018 the company has pursued a “new retail” strategy with a target of opening 800 brick-and-mortar stores across 170 cities. As of September 2020, monthly active users on the platform had crossed 7.9 million, far ahead of main rival Uxin’s 2.1 million.

Long-term backer 58.com made a profit of Rmb6.1 billion ($930 million) by selling a portion of Chehaoduo’s shares to Softbank’s Vision Fund in 2019. The same year also saw Chehaoduo reach operating profitability, fuelling another round of financing last May that brought its total funds raised to above $3 billion.

More on the origins of the second-hand sales platforms here.

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