Carro Takes 50% Shares of Car Rental Company “MPMRent” Worth 783 Billion Rupiah

Automotive marketplace startup Carro has acquired a 50% stake owned by PT Mitra Pinasthika Mustika Rent (MPMRent), a subsidiary of PT Mitra Pinasthika Mustika Tbk (IDX: MPMX) worth $53.8 million or equivalent to 783.8 billion Rupiah.

Through this strategic partnership, Carro and MPMX will develop an end-to-end O2O automotive ecosystem in Indonesia. In his official statement, the corporate action was agreed through the signing of a sale and purchase agreement between MPMX and Trusty Cars Pte Ltd (Carro) on May 31, 2022.

Carro will hold shares in MPMRent with share ownership of 50% of the total issued and fully paid capital. MPMX also injected an investment into Carro of $25 million or around 361.4 billion Rupiah in the 2021 series C round.

MPMX Group CEO Suwito Mawarati believes this partnership will be an important new chapter in bringing an integrated O2O automotive ecosystem, from marketplace, financing, vehicle rental, repair services, to after-sales, to serve the B2B and B2C markets in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, it is said that this strategic partnership can be realized thanks to the role of the investment company PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya Tbk as the parent shareholder of MPMX.

“MPMX and Saratoga believe Carro can increase the strategic value of the company’s business with a track record of success and extensive operational experience in the automotive ecosystem,” said Suwito.

For information, MPMX is a leading automotive and transportation company founded by William Soeryadjaya in 1987. Meanwhile, Carro is an automotive marketplace that operates in Southeast Asia, namely Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Strategic Considerations

It was stated that this partnership is MPMX’s ongoing effort to develop the value (unlocking value) of an existing business, including investing in innovation and accelerating the company’s digital transformation.

The reason is, Carro has an integrated online ecosystem from the car market, financing, big data, vehicle database access, including computer vision technology and price algorithms.

By partnering with Carro, MPMRent can strengthen its position as the leading car rental market leader in Southeast Asia, provide access to a nationwide network of workshops, rental and auction locations, have a customer base, and maintain strong operational capabilities.

In addition, this partnership will provide added value for customers and dealers to open access to a wider selection of quality used cars, meanwhile, provide better quality management and control practices, and continue to digitize MPMRent services for B2B customers.

Carro Co-Founder & CEO Aaron Tan added, “We remain committed to investing and advancing our business in Indonesia despite the macro and global uncertainties. We look forward to partnering with MPMX to drive growth and deliver the customer experience through hundreds of engineers and data scientists. in Carro’s group.”

Similar Action

This step also marks the increasingly fierce competition for marketplace platforms to win the Indonesian automotive market, such as Carsome, Carmudi, OLX, and Moladin.

Previously, the Carsome marketplace had carried out a similar action last year by investing in offline car and motorcycle auction service company PT Universal Collection (UC).

This investment allows Carsome to expand its network reach, access to finance and leasing providers, and potentially enter the motorcycle market. There is also Moladin, which has just pivoted to focus on the used car buying and selling segment, now available in more than 115 cities in Indonesia.

Moladin strengthens its position with a strategy of empowering agent networks and an omnichannel platform to offer a personalized car transaction experience. Recently, Moladin reportedly pocketed series B funding worth $95 million or equivalent to IDR 1.4 trillion.

Based on Ken Research’s report entitled “Indonesia Used Car Market Outlook to 2025”, used car sales in the country will be driven by omnichannel adoption, service digitization, and increasing demand in tier 2 cities.

The used car platform is predicted to focus more on developing end-to-end services that allow consumers to transact online without having to visit a showroom.