Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia & Singapore, 5 May 2022 – Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform, Carsome Group Pte Ltd (Carsome), today announced the acquisition of digital automotive content businesses under brands of WapCar and AutoFun from Tang Internet Limited and its subsidiaries. Upon the completion of the acquisition, Carsome set up WapCar AutoFun Sdn Bhd (WapCar), as a fully-owned subsidiary of the Carsome group in Malaysia.
WapCar established its first flagship brands, WapCar and AutoFun in 2019. Today, it operates a number of automotive content websites and social media channels across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam. WapCar provides a full range of content which covers car exploration, transaction, and ownership experiences, using industry-leading technology to help customers in Southeast Asia find their perfect car and immerse themselves in all things related to automotive. The platform also produces, distributes and manages highly-engaging Professionally Generated Content (PGC) and User Generated Content (UGC) at scale. In 2021, the platform distributed on average more than 1,400 article write-ups and 100 videos on a monthly basis across YouTube and TikTok channels, which attract millions of customers across the region. As of last quarter of 2021, WapCar had become one of most visited auto content platforms with over 6 million average Monthly Active Users (MAU).
Carsome Co-founder and Group CEO Eric Cheng mentioned that WapCar has built a strong automotive content strategy in Southeast Asia, liked by a large and engaging customer base. The partnership will enable Carsome to capture and serve customers from their early stage of car exploration and bring a more engaging and fun experience to the car transaction and ownership journey. “We are thrilled to announce the partnership with WapCar and a team with seasoned expertise in the content space. We believe our collaboration through content, technology and data will augment our ability to bring trust, transparency and choice to customers together,” Cheng said.
WapCar General Manager Sting Peng mentioned that there is perfect synergy for WapCar to join the Carsome family. “We are excited to work with Carsome to collectively provide a smooth car buying and selling experience to millions of WapCar users on our platform across the region, as well as an end-to-end solution in their car transaction and ownership journey,” Peng added.
The acquisition is an important move that further strengthens Carsome’s market leadership in the region, and reinforces Carsome’s commitment to drive ecosystem expansion. It comes after the company’s recent announcement, acquisition of majority stake in CarTimes Automobile, one of the largest, trusted, award-winning auto companies in Singapore, and the completion of acquisition of iCar Asia, a leading listing and content automotive platform in Southeast Asia.
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