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Secondhand car marketplace Carsome sees business rebound amid economic reopening
The company’s cofounder and CEO Eric Cheng said Carsome saw a V-shaped business recovery trend since resuming the company’s operation in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.
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Cars are displayed in the annual Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) that kicked off on April 19, exhibiting automotive products of 38 brands from both local and foreign producers at the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta. (JP/Riza Roidila Mufti)
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econdhand car online marketplace Carsome saw its highest transaction value in June in its operation in several Southeast Asian countries, amid the relaxation of pandemic-related social restrictions.
The company’s cofounder and CEO Eric Cheng said that Carsome saw a V-shaped business recovery trend since resuming the company’s operation in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.
“We were able to see the rebound within a few weeks because we are accelerating our digitalization process. We are on the right path to achieve our highest growth ever in July,” he said in a press release on Monday.
Carsome saw year-on-year (yoy) growth of more than 70 percent in May, despite the company’s limited operation during the lockdown period, Cheng added.
The company said the rising demand for new and used cars was prompted by consumers who wanted to avoid using ride-sharing services and public transportation during the pandemic.
“We also saw increased demand from used car dealers in replenishing their inventory to meet upcoming demand,” Cheng said.
In Indonesia, the automotive industry has been hit hard by the pandemic and the social restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the virus, which have battered consumer spending and halted business activities.
Domestic car sales fell more than 95 percent year-on-year to only 3,551 units in May, a continuation of the downward trend seen since March, according to Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers Association (Gaikindo) data.
Cheng went on to say that Carsome had also created products to cater to the growing demand such as the CarsomeGO mobile application that allows Indonesian used car dealers to bid for cars conveniently.
In the Carsome Consumer Survey in April, 34 percent of Malaysian respondents, 43 percent of Indonesians and 25 percent of Thais said they were planning to sell their cars within the next 12 months, with top reasons including a way to get rid of their old cars and to have more cash.
Meanwhile, in a study by classified advertisements website OLX Indonesia and its used car dealership OLX Autos Indonesia, 54 percent of survey respondents said they were considering buying a used car instead of a new one. (eyc)
