In a statement, Carsome said it submitted a letter on March 27 in response to an engagement session with the ministry to encourage and welcome the participation of local institutional investors in the company’s growth.
Carsome frequently engages in discussions with various stakeholders on ecosystem building and in driving institutional engagements.
Carsome also said its group liquidity position remains robust at over US$150mil (RM692mil), offering sufficient runway beyond its break-even point, which it expects to achieve well ahead of its targeted deadline.
Carsome said it was among the first regional start-ups to commit to an accelerated profitability plan to prepare itself for more disruptions and challenges in the funding markets.
This approach has borne fruit, delivering operational profitability as a group while enabling Carsome to beat internal targets for gross margin growth and productivity improvements as of Q1 2023.
Last year, the Carsome group grew 250% in revenue, with the newly established retail line Carsome Certified contributing 35% of total revenue.
In Q1 2023, the Carsome group achieved its operational profitability milestone for the first time, primarily driven by a significant growth of trade margin, which doubled compared to the same period last year.
Notably, more than 80% of the trade margin came from high-quality transaction margins, far ahead of most of its global peers.
Among the highlights of its ecosystem strategy, iCar Asia Group has delivered an impressive 30% year-on-year revenue growth in Q1 2023.
In addition to achieving profitability on its own, the ecosystem strategy has also contributed significantly to the more than 60% reduction in Customer Acquisition Cost of the Group over the last twelve months.
With the launch of the flagship Carsome Service Centres, the Carsome group has meaningfully integrated its products and services, from discovery to servicing, all within a single consumer app.
This marks a significant step in pursuing the Carsome group’s mission to provide its customers with peace of mind through the entire lifecycle of their ownership experience.
Today, Carsome said it is confidently poised for new opportunities in its markets across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore, and has a pipeline of growth initiatives across its ecosystem while welcoming broader institutional support.
Carsome co-founder and group CEO Eric Cheng said the company had embraced adaptability and remained resilient as it navigated a rapidly changing industry.
“Through our commitment to operational excellence and our customer-centric approach, we are grateful to have exceeded our expectations, achieving notable growth whilst pursuing profitability.
“We are grateful for the Government’s support towards a homegrown brand such as ours as we scale regionally,” he said.
He also said the Carsome Group's internal measures for operational excellence were driven by strong capabilities in data and technology that continued to yield gross margin improvements, team productivity, marketing efficiencies, and inventory management across its markets.
“Coupled with this, Carsome will take full advantage of its ecosystem strategy to redefine customer satisfaction in automotive ownership to serve its growing customer base and communities across Southeast Asia,” he said.
As the used car industry evolves rapidly, Carsome said its market share continued to be on an uptrend across its footprint.
Carsome also remained one of the last few larger players in the used car e-commerce space in Southeast Asia even as some of its competitors are reported to be exiting prime growth markets like Indonesia and Thailand.
