Carsome steers into first motorsports sponsorship

• Sponsor of B-Quik Absolute Racing Team Car #1
• Part of company’s larger ambition to be part of local communities

INTEGRATED car e-commerce platform Carsome has announced its foray into motorsports sponsorships, stated to be part of its brand-building commitment.

The company is now a sponsor of the B-Quik Absolute Racing Team Car #1, the Audi R8 LMS Evolution driven by Sandy Stuvik in the 2021 Thailand Super Series, the company said in a statement.

Stuvik, the first Thai driver to win a Formula 3 Championship, and the reigning double champion of the Thailand Super Series GT3 Class, will also become Carsome’s partner in the Thai market.

According to Eric Cheng, co-founder and group CEO of Carsome, the company is evolving from just elevating and enhancing used car buying and selling experience to also building avenues that enhance Carsome’s brand messaging.

It now wants to bring together a community that understands and shares the same ethos of solving industry pain points through technology, Carsome said.

“This partnership is a teaming up of champions to scale greater heights. As a leader in our industry, we want to work with similar-minded partners like B-Quik Absolute Racing Team and Sandy, both champions in their respective leagues, to expand our footprint as well as bring greater joy and value to people who matter to us,” said Cheng.

“For Carsome, we pledge to bring cutting edge data applications and technologies to enrich and move people forward in the new norm through holistic mobility solutions.”

Cheng said Carsome’s larger ambition is to be a part of local communities in countries where it operates, and one of the best ways to achieve this is through sports.

Motorsports is the most natural gateway for the company, he said, adding that the most fitting motorsports event in the region ibeing the Thailand Super Series.

“We are proud to stand by Thai people and celebrate local sporting events that bring people together. Our involvement in the Thailand Super Series is the first of several more to come in the region,” Cheng added.

The sponsorship announcement comes as Carsome is officially expanding Carsome Certified, its business-to-consumer (B2C) arm, to Indonesia and Thailand, following its recent appointment of Mei Han as Carsome Certified chief executive.

While there are already four Carsome Certified outlets known as Carsome Experience Centers in Malaysia, the flagship stores in Jakarta and Bangkok will be officiated this month.

The company claimed to have recorded solid growth, transacting an annualised 100,000 cars totalling more than US$700 million in transacted value. This increased Carsome’s penetration rate of the Southeast Asian used car market to almost 2%, up from the previous 1.0-1.5%.

“We are very encouraged by our growth. With greater ambition, we are on track to surpass the US$1 billion revenue mark by the end of 2021,” Cheng said.