Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd (MFCWL), the multi-brand used vehicle retailer of Mahindra Group, on Friday raised $15 million from San Francisco based investment advisor firm, Valiant Capital, for a minority stake in the company.

This is the second round of external private equity raised by MFCWL, with the first one in 2008 from Delhi based Phi Capital, who continues to be an investor in the company.

The company plans to use the fresh funds infusion to accelerate its growth both of the physical network as well as adoption of its technology enabled products and services used by all stakeholders in the industry – NBFCs, Banks, OEMs, Dealers and Consumers. MFCWL is planning to end this fiscal year (2015) with 500 franchise outlets and grow to 1,800+ outlets in the next 5 years. In addition, it plans to use the funds to broaden its reach for its products and services across other used vehicle categories. In Fiscal Year Ending 2015, MFCWL used vehicle volumes sold will be 140,000 between its retail and wholesale and it will complete 140,000 Autoinspekt inspections,

MFCWL has experienced rapid growth in its retail, wholesale and technology enabled businesses. Founded by Anand Mahindra, MFCWL’s mission is to ‘organise’ every facet of the used car industry and most important of all provide the used car consumer with a choice of certified pre-owned vehicles and a purchase experience that mimics the new car buying experience.

“MFCWL is yet another example of innovation and entrepreneurship within the Group, where new business models are being explored and implemented with persistence.  It is exciting to see marquee investors attracted to MFCWL and participating in its growth story where much is yet to come,” said Anand Mahindra, Chairman & Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra and also the Chairman of Mahindra First Choice Wheels.

MFCWL closed FY 14 with sales of 57,000 used cars, which is 30% growth over the last financial year. The company also provides value added services including but limited to third party inspections and pricing guides.

The used car market, with an estimated size of 3.2 million units, is already larger than the new car market and is growing faster than the new car market. The current slowdown notwithstanding, it is expected that the used car market will become almost double the size of the new car market in the next 5 years.