INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Shift Technologies, an online marketplace for used cars, has closed a Series D financing round of more than $140 million in equity and
debt.The round, which consists of about $70 million in debt and $71 million in equity, was led by automotive retailer Lithia Motors
Bryan DeBoer, CEO and president of Lithia, will joinShift board of directors.Previous investors Alliance Ventures, BMW iVentures, DCM, DFJ,
G2VP, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners and Highland Capital also participated
This new capital bringsShift total financing of equity and debt to $265 million.Shift, which is based in San Francisco, serves car buyers
The company, founded in 2013, has built a software platform that lets customers shop for cars, get financing and schedule test drives
Car owners can use the platform to sell their vehicle, as well
Shift says any car it buys must pass a &rigorous& 150+ point inspection.The company plans to invest in its technology platform and scale its
engineering staff from 35 to more than 80 people by the end of 2019, CEO George Arison noted to TechCrunch in an email
The company platform has focused on scaling in California; it covers about 80 percent of that market
But the company has long had its sights set on expanding beyond the Golden State.Shift is focused on, and is heavily investing in, its
peer-to-peer business, in which the company acquires cars from individuals and then sells them
Buying, refurbishing and then selling cars online is a logistics-heavy business pursuit, and one that has seen a number of competitors come
and go in the past several years
But Arison says the company has not just survived; it has grown.Shift didn&t provide revenue numbers
But Arison cited the company more than 70 percent revenue growth in the past six months as an example of the company success.The company did
have a partnership with rental giant Hertz, but that has since ended.At the time, Shift was going tofeature vehicles from Hertz fleet
It was meant to be a win-win: Hertz getsaccess to a new retail sales channel and Shift benefits from the rental car company ready supply of
lightly used cars.The partnership ended after Hertz opened its own retail stores that competed against Shift
