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These days, conversations with friends are often filled with angst over rising prices.
While I sigh about how a packet of Hainanese chicken rice from my favorite hawker now costs twice as much, my friend is more sanguine about his car ownership plans. His pocketful of sunshine: used-car marketplaces like Carro and Carsome.
Even better news? Competition in Southeast Asia’s used-car scene is about to heat up, and that could be a boon for car buyers seeking their dream ride on a budget.
In this week’s Big Story, my colleague Samreen looks at Indian pre-owned vehicles marketplace Cars24’s foray into Southeast Asia.
Founded in 2015, Cars24 enters the region with a war chest of US$850 million, having already set up shop in Thailand and Indonesia. Malaysia is next on its radar, where it will clash with Carsome and Carro-backed MyTukar.
In this week’s Hot Take, I look at how NFTs can take Southeast Asia’s direct-to-consumer scene forward, and why the time to do so could be right.
— Tian Wen
THE BIG STORY
Can Cars24 take on Carro, Carsome in SEA?
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Cars24 is wheeling around choice, value, and quality to compete with local unicorns Carro and Carsome in SEA.
THE HOT TAKE
Can NFTs be rocket fuel for SEA’s D2C brands?
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