India’s ₹4 lakh crore used-car market is estimated to have grown 8-10 per cent in FY26, but the combined revenue of leading online players Cars24, Spinny and Droom rose by only about 2 per cent, reaching over ₹11,250 crore from roughly ₹11,059 crore in FY25.
Beneath the modest industry numbers lies a significant shift in fortunes. Spinny is set to cross ₹6,000 crore in revenue in FY26, growing more than 28 per cent, according to people familiar with its performance. The company continues to scale its full-stack model, where it buys, refurbishes and sells vehicles directly to consumers.
Cars24, meanwhile, reported an 18.3 per cent decline in operating revenue to ₹5,092 crore. The company has been reducing inventory exposure in parts of its dealer business and focusing on commissions, financing, insurance and other ownership-related services.
The divergence partly reflects differences in accounting and business models. While Spinny recognises the full value of vehicles sold through its inventory-led structure, Cars24 increasingly books only commission income on certain transactions.
Changing the Machine
Cars24 CFO India Shivanshu Makkar said the company’s reported revenue decline should be viewed in the context of this transition.
“Earlier, on a ₹3 lakh car, the entire ₹3 lakh could appear as revenue. Today, only our commission, say ₹25,000, does same ₹3 lakh GMV. Lower accounting revenue. More transparent economics for our partners,” Makkar said.
“That is why GMV is a better measure of our size across this model change,” he said.
Cars24 generated over ₹8,000 crore in global GMV in FY26. Makkar said net revenue rose from around ₹1,100 crore in FY25 to about ₹1,400 crore in FY26 and is currently growing at more than 40 per cent in FY27.
The company also reported its first adjusted EBITDA-positive quarter in Q4 FY26, posting adjusted EBITDA of Rs 20 crore.
“Cars24 is increasingly becoming part of the entire vehicle ownership journey: buying, selling, financing, insurance, vehicle information, and ownership services,” Makkar said.
Two Bets, One Test
The contrasting strategies highlights the challenge of building a profitable online used-car business. Inventory-led models require substantial capital to buy, refurbish and hold vehicles, making inventory turns and margins critical.
The experience of rivals highlights those challenges. CarDekho exited full-stack used-car retailing in 2023, while Droom’s revenue has declined from ₹390 crore in FY22 to about ₹164 crore in FY26. Mahindra First Choice Wheels has also shrunk and remains unprofitable.
With several competitors retreating, the market has effectively narrowed to Cars24 and Spinny at meaningful scale, albeit with contrasting approaches. Spinny is betting that greater scale in full-stack retail will improve economics, while Cars24 is reducing inventory exposure and seeking to capture more value through transactions and ownership services.
As both companies prepare for eventual IPOs, the key question remains the same: which model can convert India’s growing appetite for used cars into sustainable profits?