Rodo Completes $18 Million Series B Financing Led by Holman Enterprises and Evolution VC Partners

NEW YORK, July 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rodo, Inc. a company transforming the car buying process announced today that it closed an $18 million Series B financing round led by Holman Enterprises and Evolution VC Partners. The round also includes participation from existing investor IAC along with Kevin Hart's HartBeat Ventures and auto industry veterans Mack McLarty, Vice Chairman of RML Automotive, and Franklin McLarty, Chairman and CEO of McLarty Diversified Holdings and Ken Schnitzer, former Chairman of Park Place Automotive Group. The latest round brings Rodo's total funding to $45 million as the company prepares to scale its dealership network nationwide and invest in marketing and customer acquisition.

Rodo is the only end-to-end solution where a consumer can lease or purchase a new car (or sell an old one) in minutes with same-day delivery service. Rodo does not buy or maintain expensive fleets or inventory, instead it partners with local dealers across the US, extending dealerships' digital reach while offering consumers an on-demand experience to instantly lease, purchase, and finance a new vehicle, entirely from their mobile device. Rodo's partner network counts more than 1,200 dealerships across ten states and offers more than 80,000 vehicles from 25 manufacturers for immediate lease or purchase via the Rodo app or website.

"The Rodo experience is disrupting the traditional new car experience for consumers while digitally extending the rooftops of its dealer-partners," said Bill Cariss, President & CEO of Holman Strategic Ventures, who will join the Rodo board.  "Rodo's intuitive, easy-to-use platform offers consumers the convenience of selecting a vehicle with complete transparency into their payments in seconds—all at the most competitive price in the market."

Last year marked a period of explosive growth for Rodo as the pandemic squeezed the auto-market and consumers sought out contactless car buying options, competitive pricing, and new avenues for inventory. The company witnessed rapid growth in the last two years with revenue and volume surging more than 10x, and now forecasts 2021 to grow by more than 500% off a record 2020 with forecasted GMV projected to exceed $1 billion.

"We're thrilled to welcome some of the auto industry's most respected veterans as strategic partners. Together, they have produced billions of dollars in car sales across hundreds of dealerships and are the perfect partners to help accelerate our growth plan," said Nathan Hecht, CEO, Rodo.

Robert Roman, President of Kevin Hart's Fund, HartBeat Ventures, added, "Our team is passionate about cars and want to support platforms with transparency and an easy-to-use format that gives power back to the consumer. We believe Rodo does this. It's a game changer!"

The Presidio Group LLC, a leading investment bank specializing in mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, and investments in the auto retail and consumer mobility sectors, exclusively advised Rodo in the Series B financing.

About Rodo

Rodo is transforming how people shop for and sell cars with its ecommerce platform that does not require stepping into a dealership using its proprietary "Instant Quote" technology. Leveraging our thousands of dealer partners nationwide, Rodo puts tens of thousands of vehicles in the hands of consumers with transparent, best-in-market pricing, and personalized concierge service, including free delivery and pick-up. Our dealership partners trust and use the Rodo platform to provide their consumers with an elegant digital extension of their physical locations.

Rodo was founded in New York in 2016 as "Honcker" by Nathan Hecht and the company has been backed by IAC and Evolution VC Partners. For more information, please visit Rodo.com.

About Holman Enterprises

Holman Enterprises is a global automotive leader that serves both commercial and consumer clients The Holman Way by always doing the right thing for our people, our customers, and the community since 1924. Headquartered in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, our automotive-centric businesses include Holman Automotive, one of the largest privately owned dealership groups in the U.S. with 40 dealership franchises representing 20 brands; Holman Insurance Services, a commercial and consumer insurance services company; Holman Parts Distribution, a national distributor of OEM powertrain solutions and logistics leader; Auto Truck Group, a vehicle fabrication and upfitting business; Kargo Master, a manufacturer of truck and van productivity solutions; ARI, the largest privately-owned fleet leasing and management company in North America; and Holman Strategic Ventures, Holman's corporate venture capital and innovation team. For additional information, please visit HolmanEnterprises.com. 

About Evolution VC Partners

Evolution VC Partners is a leading "Culture-Tech" investment firm focused on investing in companies which are disruptive to our culture.  Based in New York and investing its founder's capital, we focus on companies that disrupt the way that we shop, eat, play, smoke, work, heal and travel. Founded by Gregg Smith in 2007, Evolution has invested in more than 200 private companies in all stages, including Via, Carta, Archer Aviation, Sweetgreen, JUUL, Masterclass, Coupang, Beyond Meat, Relativity Space, Hungry, Ro (Roman), Madison Reed, Unity Software, and more. For additional information, please visit EvolutionVCP.com.

SOURCE Rodo

Related Links

https://www.Rodo.com

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