Woori makes strategic investment in Singapore’s Carro to support its SEA expansion goals
Online used car marketplace Carro, based in Singapore, announced on Tuesday that Woori Venture Partners has made a strategic investment in the company as it accelerates its plans for growth in Southeast Asia (SEA).
The strategic investment is Woori’s first late-stage deal in SEA to establish a closer partnership, according to a statement from Carro.
With Woori Venture Partners’ most recent strategic investment, Carro hopes to expand its market share in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia, where Woori is well-established.
According to a Mordor Intelligence study cited by Carro, the size of the Indonesian used car market is projected to be $56.3 billion in 2024 and will grow to $74.4 billion by 2029.
Supported by a strong, expanding economy, it believed that although more and more Indonesians are ready to own cars, even wealthy households have been discouraged from doing so due to a lack of accessible financing.
Carro has increased its geographic reach to seven markets in the past 12 months, including Hong Kong, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
“It’s always been a priority for Carro to build powerful partnerships with banks and financial institutions,
“Receiving a strategic investment from Woori Venture Partners, a venture capital subsidiary of Woori Financial Holdings – a storied Korean financial institution – is a ringing endorsement of our ecosystem-led and complementary fintech business model,” Ernest Chew, Chief Financial Officer of Carro
“We look forward to working with Woori to plug the gaps in the market, serve the underserved better and drive financial inclusion,” he added.
With earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of S$43 million ($32 million) and a 4 percent EBITDA margin, Carro is closing out the fiscal year (FY2024) on a high note.
Due to a combination of robust marketplace margin expansion, ecosystem-led ancillary income growth, and productivity optimization, the company’s gross profit margin (GPM) increased to 12 percent in FY2024.
Genie Financial Services, Carro’s fintech company, maintained non-performing loans (NPL) at less than 0.5 percent while achieving cautious growth throughout the region. The total amount of loans held by the company increased to S$496 million ($370 million).
“These numbers underscore the unique differentiated benefits of our ecosystem-led business operating model, as we focus on driving marketplace margin expansion by cross-selling ancillaries to drive recurring income streams,
“Even as we grow our volumes at double digit percentage to a record, we have and will continue to be laser focused on improving profitability, customer lifetime value across our ecosystem, inventory turnaround speed and productivity,” said Aaron Tan, Co-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Carro.
