The company says it expects overall demand for used cars and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles from Japan to grow
[SINGAPORE] South-east Asia’s largest online used-car marketplace Carro raised US$60 million in a funding round led by Cool Japan Fund, said the company on Wednesday (Sep 17).
The investment is aimed at helping Temasek and GIC-backed Carro bolster the demand for used Japanese cars in the Asia-Pacific region.
The company said it expects overall demand for used cars and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) from Japan to grow. This will be driven by an anticipated economic expansion, the rise of the middle-income population and government subsidies for EVs in countries such as Indonesia and Thailand.
Carro co-founder and chief executive officer Aaron Tan said: “We are confident we can increase the market share of Japanese PHEVs in time to come.”
The company operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. The unicorn startup transacts more than 100,000 units of new and used vehicles per year across its seven markets.
Headquartered in Singapore, it has raised over S$700 million so far from several sovereign funds and the SoftBank Vision Fund.
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Tan last week said that his company was weighing a dual listing, with plans to expand into Australia and to complete two to three acquisitions in as early as the next quarter.
The company was eyeing a US initial public offering at a valuation of more than US$3 billion, reported Reuters in August.
Cool Japan Fund is a government-backed private fund with the aim of contributing to the sustainable growth of Japan’s economy through the expansion of overseas demand, as well as supply of Japanese products and services.
