Carro pumps US$53.8m into Indonesian automotive firm MPMX

Carro has invested US$53.8 million into Mitra Pinasthika Mustika (MPMX), an Indonesian consumer automotive and transportation company, to become a 50% shareholder of the latter. 

According to MPMX, this investment marks the start of a partnership between both parties to provide an end-to-end ecosystem for consumers in Indonesia, including an online marketplace, financing, rental, repair and aftersales. Additionally, it said that the partnership presents a win-win situation for both MPMX and Carro, as it capitalises on the inherent strengths of both companies.

The investment is in line with MPMX's aim to unlock the value of existing businesses, as well as invest in innovation and accelerate its digital transformation. With Carro bringing its fully integrated online ecosystem from car marketplace to financing, big data, and AI, among others, to a vehicle database, computer vision and pricing algorithms technologies, MPMX can reinforce its market position. According to MPMX, it can also provide access to a network of workshops, strategic nationwide rental and auction locations, a profitable and diversified customer base, as well as strong operational capabilities.  

The joint venture will also amplify value for both customers and dealers, which includes giving them access to a wider selection of quality used cars within their inventory throughout the rental and post-rental period. To complement this, the investment and partnership also seek to yield better quality-management and control practices, and further digitalise MPMRent's vehicle and driver services to bring greater convenience for B2B customers. 

According to Suwito Mawarwati, group CEO of MPMX, the partnership with Carro was realised by its parent shareholder, Saratoga Investama Sedaya.

"[MPMX] and Saratoga believe that Carro is an excellent partner that would be able to add strategic value to the business of MPMX through its standing track records of success and operational experiences in a fully-integrated online automotive ecosystem. This is an important and exciting next chapter for MPMRent as this partnership will create a one-of-a-kind integrated online and offline automotive ecosystem in Indonesia that offers a complete products and services offering for our customers using the marketplace, from rental and financing to insurance serving B2B and B2C markets,” said Mawarwati. 

Aaron Tan, CEO of Carro, said: "We remain steadfast and committed to investing and advancing our business in Indonesia despite the uncertain global macro environment. We look forward to partnering with MPM to supercharge growth and transform the customer’s experience through the hundreds of engineers and data scientists across the CARRO Group.”

MPMX, an automotive consumer company in Indonesia, offers mobility solutions, ranging from retailing and distributing motorcycles and cars, after-market parts and services, transportation services, and financial services. It aims to deliver relevant products and services to the people in its ecosystem through innovation. 

Meanwhile, on the marketing front, Carro appointed Aakash Kumar Gupta as regional head of performance marketing in May this year. In the newly-created role based in Kuala Lumpur, Gupta was tasked with enhancing performance marketing and digital analytics across the brand's markets across APAC.

In addition, he built solutions that drove user acquisition and expanded Carro's presence in markets. Gupta told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE in a previous statement that he was "super excited to join this dynamic unicorn brand at a very exciting stage in its growth path", adding that given the dynamic nature of the market, it is a fantastic time to assume this role. Gupta explained that his first order of business was identify strategic opportunity levers to drive best in class solutions in line with Carro's customer-first approach. In addition, he built a team of digital and performance specialists across all markets to develop Carro's digital capabilities.  

In addition, Gupta worked closely with Katherine Teo, regional head of marketing based in Singapore, who was appointed in January 2022. "It is an exciting time to be joining Carro as we have set our sights on the next milestone of the company," Teo told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE in a previous statement. According to Teo, she sought to build a game-changing brand that people love and trust. 

Related articles: 
Carro names regional head of performance marketing
Carro drives off with new regional head of marketing
Carro group CMO Manisha Seewal exits after 3 years with firm