Online car trader upbeat on Philippine market prospects

MANILA, Philippines - Online vehicle marketplace Carmudi sees a more advanced and attractive market in terms of selling and buying cars over the Internet as the Philippines hits the demographic sweet spot.

Carmudi co-founder and global managing director Stefan Haubold said a large percentage of Filipinos are very young, more technologically inclined and the Philippine economy is expected to grow faster.

The online vehicle platform entered the Philippine in January 2014 with $16 million in investments. It considered huge market potential, level of internet and mobile penetration and financial means of people to buy a car.

“We focused on markets of a certain size where there is huge market demand, where we can be the market leaders by entering early,” Haubold said.

The reception of the Philippine market is one of the most advanced compared to other Southeast Asian countries which are yet to embrace technology, he added.

Carmudi has recently partnered with mobile phone and Internet service provider Smart Communications for SafeZone Philippines, an application where users enjoy free Internet access anytime, anywhere.

Meanwhile, Haubold said competition with other online marketplaces is not a problem as Carmudi is specifically focused on selling brand new and second hand cars, motorcycles and other vehicles.

“Our goal is to be the one-stop vehicle platform for every Filipino nationwide, whether it is for their new car, motorcycle, or commercial vehicles as well,” Carmudi Philippines managing director Subir Lohani said.

Almost all car brands have penetrated the Philippines making it one of the perfect spots for such online platform, the company said. With Carmudi, buyers and sellers need not go to showrooms to look and purchase any vehicles.

“Carmudi makes car shopping experience a whole lot easier for its users. Consumers no longer have to worry about randomly picking dealers as Carmudi has ensured that dealers are trustworthy. The ease, speed, and convenience are what make Carmudi stand out from buying cars the old fashion way,” Haubold said.

Carmudi has around 25,000 listings of cars, motorcycles and other vehicles in its Philippine website with 40,000-50,000 visits per day. Globally, the online platform has 300,000 listing and sees five million users each month.

Carmudi was founded in 2013, available in 20 countries including Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Mexico among others, and is supported by Rocket Internet, a German company that builds online start-ups and internet business models.