automotive

Carsome Recorded First Quarterly Profit In 2024

"CARSOME Group , Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform, today announced its first quarterly EBITDA positive result for Q1 2024, continuing from its initial achievement in December 2023. This progress, coupled with the Group's steady performance and financial efficiencies, demonstrates sustainable long-term profitability growth, on top of being Southeast Asia’s largest used car platform by transaction scale and market share.

A key highlight of this achievement is the significant improvement in CARSOME’s Gross Profit Per Unit (GPU), which marks profitability on a per-transaction level. The GPU has notably increased by 48% year-on-year (YoY), primarily fueled by vehicle transactions, and is substantially augmented by CARSOME’s AI-driven Pricing Engine, which utilizes big data for precise price prediction.

Apart from a strong increase in GPU contributed by transaction margin, the integration of data analytics, digitalization, and automation across the ecosystem, including ancillary services like financing, insurance, and aftersales through CARSOME Capital and CARSOME Aftersales, is pivotal in driving profitability. This comprehensive application of technology enhances the effectiveness of both core operations and ancillary services, contributing to the GPU and leading to a marked increase in ancillary income per unit by over 80% in 2023.

CARSOME has also marked another achievement in its growth trajectory, surpassing the sale of 500,000 cars since its inception in 2015. This milestone was achieved in just two years after crossing 100,000 cars in 2021. Last year, the Group sold over 150,000 cars.

Alongside these financial gains, the Group has achieved significant operational efficiencies, reducing Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) by 37%. This reduction was driven by leveraging its strong brand equity and the integration of CARSOME's comprehensive ecosystem services, which streamlined the customer journey and enhanced cost efficiencies across the region."