INDIAN full-stack automotive tech company CarDekho has acquired Carmudi Philippines, a marketplace of secondhand cars in the country, making it the second Asean nation for CarDekho to foray into.
Umang Kumar, who sits as president at CarDekho, said the start of his group’s Philippine operations is in line with the company’s strategy of expanding into Southeast Asia, a market seen by many think tanks as a new powerhouse in the global economic market.
“We are excited to expand our international footprint and invest in the new region. Philippines’s underlying macro fundamentals make it an extremely promising market,” he said.
Kumar said the optimism for the Philippines stems from the growing demand for passenger vehicles in the country, which has grown at a 14-percent compounded annual growth rate from 2014 to 2018, as well as new car sales reaching 380,000 units last year.
“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 the Philippines,” he said.
CarDekho is a company that focuses on building a complete, new car and used car ecosystem platform in its territories. In the Philippines, Kumar said CarDekho will “aggressively focus on building up and digitizing the ecosystem, and offer end to end solutions to both new and used car buyers.”
“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 Philippines Country Head Cholo Syquia said.