Bengaluru-based car care provider Bumper secures $500,000 seed funding

Bengaluru-based Bumper, one-stop solution provider for car care and support, secured $500,000 seed funding, in a round led by SAIF partners. The platform plans to use the fund in building a knowledge house of technology experts in solving all car-related problems. As part of its plan, the fund will also foster the startup's commitment to enhancing customer experience.

“There was a growing need for a comprehensive and trustworthy platform that could help car owners address all their car-related requirements. Today, customers really don’t know which is the best workshop in town, what really needs to be done to their car and what is the right price for the same. We are trying to solve this problem by aggregating verified workshops and service providers. Our app makes it easy to discover the right solution for your car problem and track real-time status as the job is being done. This funding will allow us to build a valuable team with deeper understanding and passion for cars so as to deliver quality service to its customers,” said Akhil Gupta, Co-founder, Bumper.

Set up this year, Bumper helps consumers get accurate quotes for any dent, paint or repair work. The platform also facilitates booking appointments for its customers in more than 100 workshops in Bengaluru for any car repairs and servicing needs.

On the investment, Mukul Singhal, VP, SAIF Partners says, “By 2016, India's vehicle sales would surpass that of Brazil, Germany and Japan, making India the third largest market. With more vehicles on the road, there will be a great need for a platform that can aggregate supply and demand sides for the car after-market in an efficient manner. Team Bumper has already been solving supply-side problems of the automobile sector using technology and analytics, and has built a profitable business around it in a very short time. We are equally excited with the unique approach they are taking to solve these problems."

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In 2013, India was the sixth largest car manufacturer in the world. During 2014–15, Indian auto manufacturers produced a record 23.4 million motor vehicles. In 2012–13, the total turnover of the auto manufacturers amounted to $67 billion.

During 2013–14, the total turnover of the Indian automotive component industry was estimated at $35 billion. Auto ancillary exports fetched $10.2 billion in the same year. The total number of registered motor vehicles on Indian roads reached 172 million in March 2013, of which over 21.5 million were cars, taxis and jeeps.

According to CII-ACMA, in 2015, the automotive after-market servicing business in India is pegged at about $ two billion (excluding spare parts).

According to a rough estimate, there are over 12 million cars outside the warranty period in the country and the number is increasing by around two million every year.

The aforementioned data gives a clear picture of the estimated after-sales service market in the automotive segment. With the expanding market, both franchise and non-franchise workshop players are joining the segment to cater to the market. Only about 40 per cent of the service providers in the top tier cities fall under the organised sector. There is a huge need to overhaul and organise this market to get better quality service and vehicular efficiency.

This year alone, the motor vehicle service space witnessed an exciting phase and has seen the debut of startups like MotorExpert, MeriCAR, and Cartisan that are providing a similar kind of services for automobiles. These companies also managed to raise funds from investors.

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