OLX Autos Reportedly Acquired by Astra International

Used car classifieds startup OLX Autos is rumored to be acquired by conglomerate group PT Astra International Tbk. To quote Tech in Asia, This news has been confirmed by an Astra representative who believes this corporate action will have a positive impact on the company's long-term growth.

Rumors regarding the acquisition of OLX have been circulating since March 2023. Reporting from Reuters, company holding technology owner of OLX Autos group, Prosus, revealed that the car advertising business is no longer the right approach. At that time, the company was reportedly in the middle of a sales agreement.

In early 2023, OLX also had an announcement PHK 300 employees out of a total of 1000 employees. This is referred to as the impact of changes in global economic conditions. OLX also announced the end of collaboration with contributors.

Then at the end of 2022, the Astra Group has just introduced a new service in its digital ecosystem, namely an application mo88i which allows consumers to buy and sell used cars. With the B2C model, mo88i connects showroom belonging to the Astra Group ecosystem to buyers. It seeks to provide comprehensive service to customers, both from the quality, financial and insurance aspects as the main consideration factors in the process of buying and selling and exchanging used cars.

Through the acquisition of OLX Autos, Astra is said to be digging deeper into the used car market in Indonesia, which has already been occupied by several players, such as Carro, Carsome, Autofrens, Moladin, to Broom.

Used car market in Indonesia

The automotive industry is a sector that contributes significantly to the national economy. Mentioned on the website of the Ministry of Industry, this sector has contributed an investment of IDR 99,16 trillion with a total production capacity of 2,35 million units per year and absorbed a direct workforce of 38,39 thousand people.

The decline in purchasing power of new cars due to the Covid-19 pandemic is said to have triggered an increase in used car sales volume. Several surveys conducted from year to year show optimism in the development of interest in buying used cars, in which people choose to buy used cars by considering appearance, condition, and competitive prices.

Indonesia has a large market potential for used cars, due to ever-increasing demand. Not being able to buy a new car isn't the only reason people buy used cars. Sometimes preferences and depreciation momentum are the reasons why used cars still have their own market share.

Referring to Industry Research data, the global market share for used cars in 2022 is estimated at US$810,59 billion or Rp.12.122 trillion. This amount is projected to increase to US$1.093 billion or IDR 16.346 trillion in 2028 with a growth rate of 5,12 percent per year.