Carro backs Malaysian automobile content firm Driven Communications

The Carro team / Photo credit: Carro

Singapore-based Carro, an online used-car platform, has announced a strategic investment in Driven Communications, a Malaysian digital content firm that owns several automotive websites.

The deal value was not revealed, but it is expected to be finalized within two months. Carro said that the deal will not hamper editorial freedom of Driven Communications, which will remain under the leadership of co-CEOs Paul Tan and Harvinder Singh.

The digital content firm handles Paultan.org, an automotive review and news website that sees up to 6 million monthly active visits. It also houses CarBase.my, a buyer’s guide platform, and Oto.my, a used-car classifieds site.

“Our investment and support gives Driven Communications room to achieve immediate positive net income, putting them on a stable financial standalone footing with strong earnings growth potential,” said Ernest Chew, CFO of Carro, in a statement.

Carro, which operates Malaysian platform myTukar, said it had been working with Driven Communications for around two years before the deal.

Aaron Kee, the chief of staff at Carsome, recently alleged that Paultan.org was hiding its affiliation with Carro in a response to a tweet saying Tan was part of a “coordinated attack” against the Carro competitor.

Kee went on to highlight that Paultan.org was “plastered with myTukar’s ads.” “To be clear, media sponsorship is not wrong, but I’m pointing out the probable affiliations. We have affiliations with Carlist and Wapcar as well, but we do not attempt to hide it,” he added.

Tan and Carro CEO Aaron Tan denied the allegations while a Carsome representative told Tech in Asia the company won’t be commenting on the matter.

Without going into specifics, Carro added in its announcement of the deal that its investment into Driven Communications comes after recent acquisitions of sites covering the automotive industry have resulted in some dealers and platforms being blocked.

Carro recently announced a US$60 million strategic partnership with investment firm Jardine Cycle & Carriage (JC&C). In a previous interview with Tech in Asia, CEO and founder Aaron Tan said the company will leverage JC&C’s network to get access to “good quality inventory which we otherwise could not have access to.”

See also: Carro sees “record” EBITDA as its fintech and other verticals get spotlight