Pitstop raises $2.5m in Series A funding led by Group Landmark

Pitstop, the Bangalore-based doorstep car service, and repairs provider has raised $2.5 million (Rs 18.56 crore) in Series A funding round, which was led by TPG Growth backed-Group Landmark. Pitstop aims to expand its services in 15 cities by end-2020 and plans to onboard over 1,000 garages and 1,500 doorstep service vans by the end-2021.

The existing investors of Pitstop also participated in the funding round, which includes funding worth $2.9 million (Rs 21.53 crore) from Blume Ventures & Goldbell Group of Singapore last year.

It may be recollected on February 18, Pitstop and Gulf Oil had inked a strategic partnership to provide doorstep assistance for car service and repairs in Mumbai, Pune and Gurugram. After a successful pilot in Bangalore, the service is being extended in other cities. This alliance between Gulf Oil and Pitstop aims to launch 250 vans by end this year and is already rolling out 10 dedicated vans each in Mumbai, Pune and Gurugram. The vehicle servicing company aims to create an all-India network of large format garages that offer a one-stop solution for all car ownership and maintenance needs and is well in line for its next round of $15 million (Rs 111 crore) funding with the way things are moving and going ahead.

Group Landmark, which is leading player in the auto retail and insurance distribution space, is now expanding into newer initiatives, including partnering with companies in the auto space to leverage technological synergies and scale. This is in tune with the company’s forward-looking outlook and eye for strategic partnerships.

Commenting on the investment, Group Landmark said, “Our decision to invest in Pitstop’s growth is backed by their ability to create a unified, differentiated and consistent car ownership experience across the consumer lifecycle. The tech developments and the first-of-its-kind AI-driven real-time car/ repair order tracking status definitely establish Pitstop’s expertise to own the car service and maintenance vertical by providing an edge to all the partners in the value chain -customer, garage owner, and parts, and this will grow the category. It is this consumer tech piece that can help Landmark in its operations while we provide our expertise in training/managing authorised garages as well as the support from the insurance division which is the largest player in auto insurance today. With about 200 garages on-boarded on this model, we want to fuel Pitstop’s growth to be the market leader in the space in India with an eye at establishing footprints in Singapore, Vietnam, and other South-east Asian countries.”

Mihir Mohan, CEO and founder, Pitstop said, “We are very proud to be associated with Group Landmark in our journey to change the automotive aftermarket service space across India and South-East Asia. Landmark Group has many firsts to its name and this investment speaks volumes about the foresight that they have. There is a great deal of learning from Group Landmark as we set up our network of hyper-local garages and fleet of doorstep vans to take Pitstop to the next 100,000 customers.”

The growth for Pitstop lies in its ability to build deep learning of the customer requirements and solutions for convenience and at the same time deliver effectiveness and business to its partner garages with training, resources, standardised spare parts, and other products.

"We will be using these funds to expand our garage and doorstep service network and build an integrated retail supply chain network for the spares business,” added Mohan.

Launched in 2015, Pitstop is India’s first independent doorstep car service and repairs provider. With its wide network of garages and a doorstep inspection and service model, the company offers a complete value chain solution for car owners.