Warburg Pincus LLC has led a US$180 million series D round in Souche.com, a Hangzhou-based used car transaction platform. It is Warburg Pincus' second investment in the Chinese used car space so far this year.
ClearVue Partners, Morningside Venture Capital, CreditEase New Financial Industrial Fund, Hong Kong-based Haitong International Securities Group Ltd. and a number of unnamed investors also participated in the round, according to Chinese media reports.
Founded in 2012, Souche.com provides transaction, marketing and business management services to used car dealers. Its SaaS (Software as a Service) system, which connects 80% of Chinese used car dealers, helps them enhance operational efficiency and connect with each other.
Last year, it launched a new product named Tangeche that allows car buyers to make a 10% down payment instead of 30% when purchasing a new vehicle.
The company claims that it recorded transaction volume of 513,000 vehicles and transaction value of RMB69 billion (US$10 billion) in 2016.
The new round follows a US$100 million round Souche.com received in November from investors led by Ant Financial Services Group and Chinese chauffeured car service provider Ucar Inc.
Souche.com previously raised around US$10 million in a series B round led by Sequoia Capital in 2013, following a series A round worth several million dollars from Morningside Venture Capital in 2012.
Earlier this year, two of Souche.com's competitors also completed financing rounds. Nanjing city-based used car appraisal and transaction platform Che300 raised RMB200 million (US$29 million) from Sequoia Capital China in January.
During the same month, online used car dealership Uxin Group completed a a US$500 million new funding round from China Vision Capital, Warburg Pincus, Tiger Global Management, Hillhouse Capital and KKR & Co. L.P.