US-based after-sale automotive services provider Shift Technologies has added $40m to a series D round featuring car dealership operator Lithia Motors that now stands at more than $180m, TechCrunch has reported.
The additional funding came from new participants that are primarily large institutional investors, according to Shift. Lithia Motors invested $54m to lead the first tranche in September 2018, which consisted of more than $140m in equity and debt financing.
Alliance Ventures, the corporate venturing fund formed by carmakers Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, also took part in the round, as did BMW i Ventures, the strategic investment arm of BMW, as well as Goldman Sachs’ Investment Partners unit, DFJ, DCM Ventures, G2VP and Highland Capital Partners.
Shift runs an online platform that enables users to buy and sell cars, manage test drives and arrange inspections of the vehicles.
The company expects to generate up to $240m in revenue in 2019 and plans to launch an initial public offering in 2021 if it can increase that mark to between $300m to $400m, Shift co-chief executive Toby Russell told TechCrunch.
Russell added: “There’s nothing in stone yet, and IPOs depend on a lot of factors like market conditions, but that benchmark is where we will be positioning ourselves in the next two years.”
The company has also hired Sean Foy, the former head of operations for online electronics retailer Enjoy Technologies, as chief operating officer.
Shift’s overall debt and equity financing has increased to approximately $300m. BMW i Ventures led the company’s $38m series C round in July 2017, investing alongside Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, DCM, Highland Capital, DFJ and G2VP.
Goldman Sachs Investment Partners had led a $50m series B round for the company two years earlier that was filled out by DCM, DFJ and Highland, all of which had participated in its $23.8M series A round in 2014.