The CarDekho group, India’s full-stack automotive tech company, announced its acquisition of Carmudi Philippines, the used car classifieds website.
Philippines is the 2nd Southeast Asian country where CarDekho Group has started its operations. In 2016, CarDekho launched its Indonesia operations under the brand name OTO.com, which has since become the number one new auto portal in the country.
The acquisition is aligned with CarDekho’s business strategy to expand its footprint across Southeast Asia. With Carmudi and CarDekho coming together and working towards digitalizing the entire auto ecosystem, the Philippine automotive industry is expected to witness its next disruption.
CarDekho has raised more than $190 million from marquee investors which includes Sequoia, Hillhouse Capital, CapitalG (formerly known as Google Capital), Tybourne Capital, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Times Internet, Ratan Tata, and Trifecta.
CarDekho is focused on building a complete, new car and used car ecosystem platform in every country it establishes operations in. This ecosystem engages with consumers throughout their car-buying journey through its different transaction models. In the Philippines, CarDekho will aggressively focus on building up and digitizing the ecosystem and offer end to end solutions to both new and used car buyers.
All car and motorcycle manufacturers in India engage with CarDekho, accounting for 15-30% of some of its partner manufacturers’ annual sales. CarDekho also actively works with over 4,000 new auto dealerships and 3,000 used car dealers across India, influencing more than 42% of the retail sales happening through their counters. In addition, it works in collaboration with more than 10 financial institutions and 18 insurance companies across the country to facilitate used car financing and insurance to provide a seamless experience for both buyers and sellers.
Umang Kumar, Co-Founder and President, CarDekho group said, “We are excited to expand our international footprint and invest in the new region. Philippines’ underlying macro fundamentals make it an extremely promising market. The market demand for new PVs in the Philippines has grown at a CAGR of 14 % during 2014-2018 with new car sales crossing 380,000 units in 2018. We see this growth as a big opportunity to digitize the Philippines auto ecosystem and engage with consumers throughout their online car buying journey. Our strong ecosystem play has made us a leader in India and Indonesia. And now we are expecting the same for Philippines.”
“CarDekho, a leading full-stack auto tech company backing us will help us in further strengthening our position in this region. This means added enhancements in technology, processes, and platform resulting in great user experience. Carmudi is already known for quality listings, powerful search, and one-stop convenience but the collaboration with CarDekho will enable us to digitalize and simplify the entire auto ecosystem.” said Cholo Syquia, country head, Carmudi Philippines.
