Online classifieds company Quikr has acquired Stepni, a platform that connects vehicle owners with service providers nearest to them, in an attempt to strengthen its offerings under QuikrCars. However, the financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

QuikrCars is a vertical that focuses on all types of automobiles, including cars, bikes and commercial vehicles.

“At QuikrCars, we believe there is an acute need and a large opportunity for someone to innovate in the auto buying selling space in India…. Stepni’s business model will now allow us to develop a longer-term relationship with car owners as opposed to only at the point of buying-selling. We plan to scale vehicle maintenance services to all major cities over the next three months,” said Atul Tewari, Head of QuikrCars and COO at Quikr.

Founded by Vinay Singh and Nikhil Nair in October 2015, Stepni has helped thousands of consumers with their vehicle servicing needs in Bengaluru through a partner network of over 125 service centres across the city.

Stepni’s founders and team will join QuikrCars with immediate effect. The overall platform integration will help QuikrCars consumers shortlist service providers that can ensure the best service for their vehicle within 5 km of their location.

Since last year, Quikr has made several acquisitions. QuikrHomes has acquired Realty Exchange (IRX), Realtycompass and CommonFloor and made a strategic investment in A N Virtual Tech.

QuikrServices has acquired beauty services companies Salosa and Zapluk. QuikrJobs has also acquired Hiree to expand into white collar jobs.

rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in

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