PumPumPum Raises INR 5.5 Cr In Pre-Series A Round Led By Inflection Point Ventures The startup plans to use the funds for category disruption, consumer awareness, technology development, and expansion
By Prabhjeet Bhatla •
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Gurugram-based used car leasing startup PumPumPum, which caters to the corporate and retail segment, announced on Friday to have secured INR 5.5 crore in a pre-Series A funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV). Other investors LetsVenture and Agility Ventures also participated in the funding round.
The company plans to utilize the capital for category disruption, consumer awareness, technology development, brand building, and expansion.
"In the 90s, owning a car was considered a big deal, but with growing disposable income of Millennials, buying a car is now a matter of convenience, and changing them every three years seems to be the norm. The new-age workforce mantra is to lease assets such as houses, consumer durables, and even cars so that it keeps them detached and mobile when changing jobs or home base. This is the new customer segment that PumPumPum is aiming to capture and we believe its potential will explore in the coming five years," said Vinay Bansal, founder, and chief executive officer, IPV.
The average ownership of firsthand used cars in India is approximately 24-30 months and is dramatically decreasing. As compared to buying and maintaining a car for 24 months, a leased car for 24 months turns out to be extremely affordable and hassle-free. In its endeavor to empower smart car ownership for Indian millennials by providing "cars as a service' and ensuring safety, affordability, flexibility, and minimized liabilities, the company has been said to have conceptualized by Tarun Lawadia and Sameer Kalra. PumPumPum is seamlessly taking care of all the used car owner's risks such as repair, maintenance, tyres, batteries, car resale value, insurance, etc, thus ensuring a safe and comfortable journey with hassle-free ownership, the company shared.
"Car leasing and subscription is fast catching pace in the country and has a great future ahead. To take this niche category to newer heights, we are consistently expanding our reach along with tech disruption and high decibel consumer awareness. We are committed to offering a hassle-free smart car experience with zero down payments, zero maintenance charges, and zero insurance premiums. Ranging from monthly subscriptions of INR 10,000- INR 1 lakh, PumPumPum car subscriptions are dynamic based on the duration of the subscription. We are confident that the capital infusion will help us in category disruption and strengthen our product development, marketing, and expansion plans," mentioned Tarun Lawadia, founder and chief executive officer, PumPumPum.
The company is riding on technologies such as Internet-of-Things (IoT) to deliver a seamless, safe, and exceptional experience to users. All the cars are IoT-enabled cars (OBD device), which captures customer driving behavior and car health parameters. IoT-enabled cars add smart features to economical cars, which are easily accessible by the user through the PumPumPum app. The company is applying machine learning to reduce maintenance costs by taking a preventive course with the help of data received through IoT. A real-time credit check allows the user to get rid of lengthy banking and loan processes along with a lot of paper trail.
"Realising the fact that leasing by nature has the ability to solve the entire ownership-related issues, we are the only company in the Used Car Leasing space to provide a car with a white number plate ensuring a sense of pride and security for our customers. PumPumPum is committed to address and solve issues related to lack of trust in dealers, low penetration of financing in used car space, risk of repairs in a used car, non-transparent pricing (lack of standard price parameters), the low resale value of the third hand used car resulting in a high rate of depreciation. Our unique business model offers ownership aimed at effectively solving all consumer issues, right from pricing to quality and flexibility. We have aggressive plans to reach out to over 15 cities in the next three years as we are witnessing a huge demand for used car leasing from metros as well as non-metros markets," Sameer Kalra, co-founder and chief growth officer, PumPumPum.
In a short span of time, PumPumPum has established a robust network of associates and partners. The startup has strategic tie-ups with financial Partners such as ICICI Bank, IDFC Bank, Canara Bank & Kogta Finance; strategic sourcing partners such as Cars24, OLX, Avis, SMAS, LeasePlan, VW Das Wels Auto, Renault Select, and corporate tie-ups with Xceedance, Snapdeal, People Strong, Bira, Ashiana Group and Chaayos.
