The Mexican unicorn Kavak announced it will expand to Turkey, Chile, Peru and Colombia through a $180M investment.
Last year, Kavak acquired the Turkish company Garaj Serpeti with the intention of expanding to the Asian continent. Now, Kavak is confirming its arrival, and Garaj Serpeti will adopt Carvak as its trade name. The company is planning to invest $60M in its expansion to Turkey.
For the expansion to the Latin American countries, Kavak will invest $120M and hire 300 employees. Kavak’s goal both in Latin America and in Turkey is to process 3,000 cars per month. Federico Ranero, COO at Kavak, points out the following:
“The expansion to the three Latin American countries allows us to reach 80% of the used car market in the region and the arrival in Turkey is an unprecedented act for a Mexican startup.”
Kavak decided to expand to Turkey because it is a market where cars are for the population an asset whose value is safeguarded as the national currency depreciates. This characteristic is also common in Latin American countries.
“We found an opportunity for many people to capitalize through a car, that is, to obtain liquidity through it,” Ranero explained.
In Mexico, the size of the used car market is $60B, in Brazil this number increases to $100B, and the rest of the Latin American market represents another $40B. Globally, this is a $320B business, of which Kavak has only penetrated 1% according to Ranero.
Kavak currently has 1,500 cars in inventory, six operating and three conditioning centers in Latin America. In Turkey, Kavak has 1,000 cars in inventory, fifteen service centers, and one refurbishment center.
The Mexican unicorn Kavak reached the $1B valuation in 2020 and is today Latin America’s second most valuable startup in Latin America after Nubank. Kavak currently has an $8.7B valuation.
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