Singapore-based online car marketplace Carro has completed the purchase of Australian used-car platform CarPlace, making Australia the company’s eighth market, the firm announced Thursday.
Carro had previously signaled its intentions to Reuters back in September, when the company said it was exploring acquisitions as a way to break into Australia ahead of a possible dual stock listing.
Through the acquisition, Carro now has operations in Western Australia, Queensland, and Victoria — three of the four biggest car markets in the country. The financial details of the deal were not made public.
CarPlace is run by Autoleague, described as one of Australia’s largest automotive groups. As part of the agreement, Autoleague will remain a strategic shareholder in CarPlace and will also become a strategic investor in Carro.
Carro says it intends to apply its technology platform to improve how vehicles are inspected, how inventory is tracked, and how dealers connect with customers in the Australian market.
“Australia is one of the largest used-car markets in Asia Pacific,” said Carro co-founder and CEO Aaron Tan, pointing to annual sales of 2.3 million used vehicles and growing demand for electric cars.
The company also has plans to expand wholesale vehicle operations in Australia, which includes importing cars from Japan. Wholesale operations involve selling vehicles in bulk or to dealers rather than directly to individual consumers.
Carro was founded in 2015 and has raised more than S$700 million — equivalent to approximately $545.6 million U.S. — from investors that include SoftBank Vision Fund and several sovereign wealth funds. The company employs more than 4,500 people worldwide.
In addition to Australia, Carro operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
