iCar Asia turns five, set to launch fresh new car section and chatbot named Ari

By Digital News Asia September 18, 2017

Owns seven automotive portals across Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia
Launched consumer and dealer apps in each country, moved to a single web platform

iCar Asia turns five, set to launch fresh new car section and chatbot named Ari

ICAR Asia Limited, the owner of Asean’s largest network of automotive websites celebrated its 5th year IPO anniversary recently.

Five years ago, iCar Asia Limited was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) by the company’s co-founder and then chairman, Patrick Grove.

Operating in the world’s 5th largest automotive market serving a population of more than 600 million, iCar Asia Ltd currently owns seven automotive portals across three countries – Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. These three countries stand strong as the largest automotive markets across the ASEAN region.

iCar Asia has grown from having 700 thousand monthly users back in early 2013 to 8.6 million currently and grown the total car listings from 64,000 to over 500,000, fulfilling the mission to connect car buyers and sellers through their automotive journey.

The company reaches out to all automotive brands operating in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, working closely with each automotive brands and dealerships.

In those five years, iCar Asia has launched consumer and dealer apps in each country, moved to a single web platform, added automotive content sites in each country and is now the number one automotive classifieds portal in the region.

Co-founder of iCar Asia, Patrick Grove, commented “It’s been an amazing journey to watch the transformation and expansion of iCar Asia across Southeast Asia. I’m extremely proud of the team to have achieved so much in just five years. They have shown phenomenal growth and we are so excited about the growth strategies in place for the business.”

In conjunction with their five year anniversary, iCar Asia is getting ready to launch a completely fresh new car section and a chatbot named Ari, in its mission to assist new car buyers in getting the most relevant information and the best deals in town.

These new developments are a result of the company’s commitment towards constantly finding new ways to improve its offering to its customers, never wanting to stand still.

CEO of iCar Asia Ltd, Hamish Stone said: “iCar Asia has come a long way in five years, to now be the clear market leader in the online automotive space across Asean. Our leading position has presented us with an exciting opportunity to expand and strengthen our leadership further in the new car space.

“The next five years will be transformative for the automotive industry in Asean, as digital channels become more and more integrated into how businesses operate. iCar Asia is optimally positioned to be at the centre of driving this transformation. We have the right brands, audience and platforms to continue to deliver world class online experience combined with offline events.”