Singapore-based used car marketplace Carro has expanded into the Japanese market through a partnership with tech conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp, according to an announcement.
The partnership will see Carro Japan offering a full suite of services, including subscription-based services and car leasing. It will also involve multiple leasing companies, with plans to expand the marketplace for individual Japanese users.
Carro considers Japan as one of the leading automotive markets and the most digitally savvy country in Asia. In recent years, Japan has seen an increase in demand for used cars and subscription-based services amid rising prices of new vehicles and a growing need for car ownership.
“Our entry into Japan is the next natural step in growing our regional presence and helping traditional dealers expand their market reach across the country using our AI-technology-backed capabilities,” said Carro CEO and co-founder Aaron Tan.
SoftBank’s key role in Carro Japan will be to tailor services for the Japanese market, including marketing, sales and collaboration with partner companies.
Founded by college friends Aaron Tan, Aditya Lesman and Kelvin Chng, Carro operates across the entire chain of car ownership. It has pioneered innovative services such as Singapore’s first contactless car purchase service, first car subscription service and the first region-wide behaviour and usage-based car insurance.
The company, which has a presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan, bagged $360 million in Series C funding in June 2021 from Softbank’s Vision Fund 2, EV Growth and others, and joined the Southeast Asian unicorn club.
Carro, founded in 2016, closed its financial year ended March 2021 with over 2.5x growth in revenue and was EBITDA positive for the second year running. According to a regulatory filing of Trusty Cars Pte Ltd, Carro’s legal entity, the firm had posted a revenue of S$117.8 million and net loss of S$5.2 million for FY2020.