Cars24 co-founder Mehul Agrawal steps back amid senior-level exits
Mehul Agrawal, co-founder of used car marketplace Cars24, announced his decision to step down from his operating role on Thursday in the latest high-profile exit at the company set to go public.
Announcing his decision on professional networking platform LinkedIn, Agrawal said he was stepping down from his operating role but will continue as a board member of Cars24. “There is never a perfect time for these decisions. But I know this is the strongest time we have ever been,” he wrote.
Just two days ago, co-founder Gajendra Jangid, who has served as the company’s marketing director since its inception, announced that he would also step away from his executive role.
In March, Himanshu Ratnoo, the company’s general manager for India, resigned from his post, which he assumed in 2024. The task was entrusted to group CEO and co-founder Vikram Chopra.
In a January post on X, Chopra announced the company’s H1FY26 results and said it was considering going public in the next 6-12 months. Cars24’s adjusted net income increased by 18% year on year ₹651 crore, while adjusted EBITDA burn was down 36% to 651 crore. ₹162 crore.
IPO plans
These exits come at a time when the SoftBank-backed company is actively preparing for an IPO; This is a sign of a significant reorganization before listing.
Cars24 was founded in 2015 by Agrawal, Jangid, Vikram Chopra and Ruchit Agarwal as a digital marketplace for buying and selling second-hand vehicles. Agrawal, an IIM Kolkata graduate who had previously worked at BCG and co-founded online furniture startup FabFurnish, was serving as the company’s chief operating officer.
The startup entered the unicorn club with a $200 million Series E raise in 2020 and raised over $1.3 billion in total funding from investors such as SoftBank, DST Global and Alpha Wave Global. It last reported a $3.3 billion valuation in 2021.
The company is on a buying spree ahead of its anticipated IPO. The company, which acquired auto community platform Team-BHP in 2025, has since aimed to deepen its relationships with customers beyond the point of sale by acquiring vehicle information platforms CarInfo and Vehicle Info.
The company currently operates in India, UAE and Australia and competes with the likes of Spinny, CarDekho and CarTrade. It is claimed that 11 million users visit the Cars24 platform every month.
