Used Car Sales Increase During Pandemic, Carro Books Business Growth

A study titled Indonesian Autos from HSBC Global Research found 90% of respondents switched to private vehicles during this pandemic. At the same time new car sales are still far from recovering. On the other hand, used car sales are increasing.

Car, one of the players marketplace for used cars, find the blessing. The Singapore-based startup claims to have experienced a 600% increase in demand. This figure is quite large for the automotive industry, which has been hit quite deeply by the pandemic throughout the year.

Carro Co-Founder Aditya Lesmana explained that this achievement was indicated by the declining purchasing power of the people and they were more frugal in spending their money during the outbreak. However, due to the outbreak as well, the market has switched from public transportation to private vehicles to avoid the threat of the virus while traveling. Carro also reap the benefits of this condition.

"During the Covid-19 pandemic, Car itself has experienced a surge in buying and selling certified used cars that can be tested from home and purchased online online, said Aditya.

Data from Lokadata shows used car sales grew 80 percent in August. In the same period, new car sales are slowly recovering, still growing at 45% only. And all of that happened with the car sales record year on year down 47,8% as of October 2020. This strengthens the still strong market interest in Indonesia for used cars.

Aditya Lesmana explained that the increase in demand they experienced was also driven by changes in responding to market needs. Some of them are features Test Drive which can be done at the place of potential buyers so as to minimize contact. Purchases can also be delivered and facilitated to be sent directly to the buyer's house.

"There are no significant changes. We are still carrying out the plans we have made several years ago in promoting technology to facilitate people to be able to make car purchases online. contactless," added Aditya.

Carro itself has a C2B business model to help consumers sell their cars; and B2C to sell used cars purchased from consumers. In this landscape, they are in direct competition with several players, among them OLX Autos and Carsome.

Optimism Grows

President Director of Dyandara Promosindo Hendra Noor Saleh assessed that the shift in people's interest to used cars makes sense because the pandemic conditions have pushed them to switch to private vehicles but at much more affordable prices.

Hendra also believes that those who play using digital platforms like Carro can survive the economic pressures caused by the pandemic.

"Amid the pressure caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the automotive industry must move quickly and transform digitally. Through the application of technology, new strengths will emerge for the automotive industry, especially in terms of improving service quality and interaction with consumers," said Hendra.

Reflecting on this achievement, Carro is ready to profit from the ongoing trend. Aditya Lesmana explained that they plan to launch an application to make it easier for consumers to monitor car usage to check maintenance schedules. They will also introduce a number of new features to support user convenience.

"We continue to focus on improving services to consumers as end users as well as showroom used cars by adding car insurance options and also financing," added Aditya.

Aditya was reluctant to answer the used car sales figures targeted by Carro for this year. However, he is optimistic that their achievements will be better as the economy is expected to improve in 2021.

"We may not sell the cheapest car, but we provide the most complete car warranty," said Aditya.