SG Car Marketplace Startup Carro Eyes SEA Expansion With $90m in Fresh Funding

Singapore-based automotive marketplace startup Carro sets its sight on a greater Southeast Asia expansion after raising a total of $90 million in a Series B funding round.

Founded in 2015, Carro has over four million users a month and has transacted over $500 million worth of cars last year, making it one of the region’s largest automotive marketplace, offering a range of services including buying and selling, financing, subscription, insurance, workshop and roadside assistance for cars.

The startup currently operates in 30 cities across Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand. Over 4,000 vehicles are transacted monthly on Carro in both Indonesia and Thailand, and tens of thousands of dealers have joined the Carro Wholesale network.

In a statement Tuesday, Carro said it has raised an additional $30 million on top of the $60 million it secured in its Series B in May. The fresh funding comes from new investors, including SoftBank Ventures Asia, government-linked global investor EDBI, Dieritch Foundation, NCORE Ventures, and Hanwha Asset Management.

The latest money into its coffers brings Carro’s total funding raised to date to over $100 million. The startup said it will use the fresh funding to further its expansion across Southeast Asia, starting with its acquisition of Jualo.com, Indonesia’s leading C2C marketplace platform.

“Our acquisition of Jualo.com will further boost the reach of our proprietary technology platform in Southeast Asia; especially as Indonesia is the region’s largest automotive market,” said Aaron Tan, the CEO and Founder of Carro.

According to wholesale data compiled by industry association Gaikindo, full-year vehicles sales in Indonesia increased by 6.6 per cent to 1.151 million last year, compared with 1.08 million units in 2017.

A report cited by both Jualo and Carro said about two-thirds of the middle class in the world will come from Asia by 2030. An increasing middle class is expected to result in increasing demand for cars, they said.

Founded in 2013, Jualo.com is Indonesia’s fastest-growing marketplace. The platform attracts over 4 million users per month and facilitated transactions worth over $1 billion in 2018.

“Our business models are complementary in many aspects and this acquisition further drives our shared vision of empowering Indonesians with a safe and trusted marketplace,” said Pedro Principe, CEO of Jualo.com.

Founded by Aaron Tan, Carro launched the first subscription-based car service in Singapore, with over 3,000 people on the waitlist since it launched in March 2019.

The service offers consumers the flexibility of selecting a plan and driving off with a car of their choice without the hassle of traditional car ownership.

“Carro rolled-out this innovative service to cater to today’s generation of drivers who wish to enjoy the convenience of owning a car without needing to worry about annual depreciation and unexpected expenses such as repairs, roadside assistance, and insurance premiums,” the company said.