Automotive | AIM Group

Uxin and Guangzhou city jointly invest in used car suprstore

Nik Flegont — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 19:56:01 +0000

Uxin Limited, a leading China-based used car retailer, and local government authorities in the city of Guangzhou have agreed to collaborate in the development of Uxin’s used car superstore, designed to accommodate over 3,000 vehicles.

The project is a ‘key step’ in Uxin’s nationwide expansion of its used car superstore network, said CSO Wenbing Jing, following the openings of superstores in Xi’an, Hefei, Wuhan, and Zhengzhou.

Explaining the choice of Guangzhou, Wenbing Jing pointed out that the city “offers a compelling combination of strategic location, pro-business environment, and a well-established automotive industry.”

With a permanent population exceeding 18 million and more than 4 million registered vehicles, the city maintains one of the most active used car markets in China, according to Uxin. Guangzhou also hosts one of the country’s most advanced automotive parts and manufacturing ecosystems, Uzum said, which provides an “ideal foundation for Uxin’s large-scale used car retail operations through advanced reconditioning, one-stop shopping, and digitalized operations.”

Guangzhou is also one of China’s most important gateways for international trade, with a total import and export volume exceeding RMB1 trillion ($145 billion) in 2024. With the launch of the Guangzhou project, Uxin aims to strengthen its service capabilities and market presence across Southern China.

Reichel joins Mobile.de as ad sales director

Ignacio Landivar — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 17:34:32 +0000

Mobile.de has named Olaf Reichel as its new director of advertising sales, a new position focused on expanding the company’s media and advertising partnerships.

In his new position, Reichel will oversee the strategic development of Mobile.de’s media sales business, strengthening relationships with agencies and direct clients while driving new advertising initiatives.

“With his expertise, he will drive our extensive advertising business forward and strengthen Mobile.de as the leading platform in the automotive sector,” said chief of partnerships and media Anthony Saines.

Reichel has more than 15 years of experience in media distribution and advertising technology, specializing in retail and commerce media and programmatic advertising. He has held management positions at Scout24, subsidiaries of Ceconomy AG and Metro AG, and founded the consulting firm Retail Media Services.

“The automotive market is undergoing profound change, and Mobile.de plays a key role in this. My focus will be on building sustainable partnerships, driving innovative product development, and delivering excellent customer experiences,” he said.

The announcement comes as the Sweden-based private equity firm EQT is reportedly considering a bid for Mobile.de, which is owned by Adevinta and based in Berlin. EQT has held preliminary talks with Blackstone and Permira, which led the consortium that acquired Adevinta and took it private in June last year, the Financial Times (FT) reports, citing “people familiar with the matter.”

EQT reportedly considering bid for Mobile.de

Damian Shore — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 14:50:15 +0000

Sweden-based private equity firm EQT is reportedly considering a bid for Adevinta’s Mobile.de, the leading auto marketplace in Germany.

EQT has held preliminary talks with Blackstone and Permira, which led the consortium that acquired Adevinta and took it private in June last year, the Financial Times (FT) reports, citing “people familiar with the matter.”

However, the newspaper added that the talks were at a preliminary stage. It noted that EQT, Permira and Blackstone had declined to comment on the story.

It had been thought that Adevinta was planning an IPO for Mobile.de, and earlier this month, the FT reported that it had selected investment banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to work on listing plans. The newspaper said that the deal could value the company at around €10 billion ($11.7 billion), adding that the IPO would be one of the largest in Europe in recent years.

The IPO could still happen, but these discussions with EQT suggest that Adevinta’s owners are keeping their options open.

EQT and Adevinta are already doing business in Spain: In July this year, the former agreed to buy Adevinta’s Spain-based marketplaces, including auto marketplace Coches.net (not to be confused with Santander Bank’s Coches.com), job board InfoJobs and horizontal Milanuncios.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but Spain-based business newspaper Expansión reported at the time that the deal valued Adevinta Spain at around €2.0 billion, citing “industry sources.”

Adevinta was formed in 2018 as a spinoff from Schibsted and taken public a year later. At the time, it mainly operated in six core European markets: Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium. The company’s marketplaces included LeBonCoin in France and Marktplaats.nl in the Netherlands.

During the less than 18 months since it changed hands, Adevinta has exited joint ventures in Ireland (Distilled) and Austria (Willlhaben), as well as agreeing to exit Spain.

It was recently revealed that Adevinta had decided to shutter job board InfoJobs Italia at the end of this year.

The AIM Group has contacted Adevinta, Mobile.de, Blackstone, Permira and EQT for comment, and we will update this story if we receive a response.

CarMax lays off 350 more workers

Sharon Hill — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 19:23:34 +0000

Richmond, Virginia-based CarMax has just completed its second round of layoffs in 14 months, this one impacting 350 customer service positions, a month after it reported a net-earnings year-on-year drop of 28%.

The automotive retailer confirmed the layoffs to RichmondBizSense, saying, “We recently conducted a comprehensive review of our CECs [customer experience centers] and have determined that the reorganization of the CECs will help us best serve our customers and strengthen our business for the future. After implementing several processes and technological improvements to streamline our customer communication support function, we are now able to realign key work areas, resulting in the consolidation of some teams.”

Impacted employees will be offered severance pay, career support services, and the opportunity to apply for open positions elsewhere in the company, according to the report.

The layoffs come amid broader financial headwinds. A sharp Sept. 25 stock sell-off, allegedly the result of an unexpected jump in loan losses at CarMax Auto Finance, has resulted in more than one legal firm alleging securities fraud.

CarMax has more than 250 retail locations throughout the U.S., and over 30,000 employees. Founded in 1993, it is considered the largest marketplace for used vehicles in the U.S.

Carvana Q3 2025: Another profit on record revenue

Greg Spencer — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 16:12:02 +0000

Online dealer Carvana posted another in a string of company firsts, achieving a profit on record revenue in Q3 2025 despite a cooling down in the used-car market.

Carvana posted $5.65 billion in revenue, up 55% year-over-year and up from its previous record of $4.84 billion set the previous quarter. The company sold 156,000 vehicles, another record.

Carvana reported net income of $263 million, up $115 million y-o-y, though down from $308 million in Q2.

During an earnings call with investors, Carvana CEO Ernie Garcia III boasted that Carvana had profit margins more than two times the industry average and unit sales growth above 40% when other public retailers have been nearly flat.

“We remain the most profitable and fastest-growing automotive retailer,” Garcia said. “These data points are exciting in isolation. Achieving them simultaneously is rare and points to an exceptional future.”

Industrywide, used car wholesale sales were down slightly from Q2 and y-o-y, according to a study by Manheim, and Carvana felt it.

Gross profits per unit were down for both Carvana’s retail and wholesale businesses, which the company attributed to an expected drop off after tariff scares drove an outsized group of buyers to car lots in hopes of avoiding higher prices.

“We attribute that to some effects from the late March auto tariff announcements,” Carvana CFO Mark Jenkins said during a call with investors. “I think on the contrary, Q3 was a bit of a softer depreciation quarter on a year-over-year basis. I think we would attribute that almost an offset to the Q2 strength.”

Decline in per-unit profits was also due to an increase in advertising. After Carvana’s brush with bankruptcy in 2023, the company pared down its business and focused on efficiency, cutting out advertising almost entirely.

In the last few quarters, it has recharged its marketing efforts. Advertising expenses increased by $139 per car sold in Q3, with expectations for Q4 spending to be equal or slightly higher.

That effort goes to one of three pillars of Carvana’s strategy: building understanding, awareness and trust. During a period of explosive growth and inadequate staffing during the pandemic, Carvana was the subject of lawsuits and state enforcement actions due to registration and titling problems (see here and here).

Improved registration processes are part of a R&D project that uses Phoenix as a test market.

Thanks to this project, 40% of customers in Phoenix receive their cars within a day of buying them online, versus a national average of 10%.

Phoenix is also a test market for more efficient finance verifications, vehicle staging, delivery scheduling systems, and staffing models, the company said.

Carro FY24-25: Double-digit y-o-y revenue growth ahead of possible IPO next year

Prabhu Prasad — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 14:58:03 +0000

Carro, a Singapore-headquartered digital automotive group and marketplace with operations across Southeast Asia, has posted SGD1.2 billion ($898 million U.S.) in revenue, up 15% year on year (y-o-y), for the 12 months to March 2025 (FY24-25).

Gross profit reached SGD149 million, up 20% y-o-y, the startup said in a news release. It reported EBITDA of SGD43 million for FY24-25 but didn’t say how this compared to FY23-24.

The company’s gross profit margin improved to 12.4% from 11.8% in FY23-24, which it said was underpinned by “margin expansion, ecosystem-led ancillary income growth and productivity optimization.” Ancillaries accounted for 55% of gross profit in FY24-25.

Among these ancillaries, Carro’s fintech business, Genie Financial Services, reported loan book growth of 35% y-o-y to SGD670 million in FY24-25. The company has continued to strengthen its fintech arm, recently teaming up with Hong Kong-listed fintech company SY Holdings to expand its auto financing services.

“As we grow our differentiated ecosystem-led business operating model, we continue to focus on driving marketplace margin expansion by cross-selling ancillaries to drive recurring income streams and improve customer lifetime value,” said Aaron Tan, co-founder and group CEO of Carro.

Tan revealed that Carro had scaled up operations in Hong Kong and Japan, venturing beyond its core markets in Southeast Asia. “This year, we launched our ‘brand new’ segment in Singapore and Malaysia to capture a broader customer base in the automotive value chain and are looking to bring this to other markets,” he added.

Last month, Carro raised $60 million U.S. in funding in a round led by the Japanese government-backed Cool Japan Fund. The company said the proceeds would be used to drive demand for Japan-based brands across the markets it operates in.

During the same month, Carro revealed plans to expand to Australia and pursue up to three M&A deals before the end of its current financial year. The planned expansion is part of preparations for a potential $500 million U.S. IPO next year, which could be a dual listing in the U.S., Singapore or Hong Kong.

On the product front, Carro recently launching an AI-enabled inspection app that combines on-board diagnostics with visual, sound and vibration analysis to improve its used-car inspection capabilities. “Our use of AI also stretches to sales conversion and customer service, which helps handle up to 85% of conversations and has cut down average response time by up to 80% to below 3 minutes in our largest markets,” Tan explained.

Carro has raised over $600 million U.S. in funding to date and has 5,000 employees across the Asia Pacific region. The company’s suite of services includes Carro Care (after-sales), Genie Financing Services and Coverro (insurance). It ended FY24-25 with a liquidity of SGD385 million.

PakWheels opens first physical car care services center

AIM Group — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 14:38:33 +0000

Pakistan-based auto marketplace PakWheels has opened its first physical car care services center in its home city, Lahore. The center offers exterior and interior cleaning, oil changes, car inspections, and accessories, according to a company news release.

PakWheels.com is the country’s leading automotive marketplace, featuring new and used cars and motorbikes, along with an e-commerce portal for spare parts and accessories.

Founded in 2003, PakWheels is 37% owned by Malaysia-based marketplace operator Frontier Digital Ventures (FDV). FDV reported a 58% year-on-year revenue growth and a 178% surge in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization from the auto site in Q1 2025.

In September, PakWheels.com had 6.7 million unique visits, maintaining its position as the top auto marketplace ahead of competitors like Gari.pk, according to Similarweb. It is also one of the world’s most-visited automotive marketplaces, according to AIM Group’s ranking.

The auto marketplace recorded 150,000 vehicle transactions in 2024 and is currently running the beta version of its UAE auto classifieds site, ArabWheels.ae.

Co-founder Suneel Munj said, “This service center marks the beginning of PakWheels’ vision to bring quality, transparency, and convenience to every car owner in Pakistan.”

AutoWallis boosts vehicle sales 8.4% in Q1-Q3

Andrzej Sowula — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 09:45:28 +0000

Hungary-based AutoWallis — the parent company of No. 2 Hungary-based auto site JoAutok.hu, car-auction site Auto-Licit.hu and several dealerships — increased total vehicle sales by 8.4% year on year (y-o-y) to 39,406 units in the first nine months of 2025, significantly outpacing the 3.4% growth recorded in H1 and signaling strong Q3 momentum.

The Retail Business Unit drove the expansion, with new-vehicle sales surging 21.1% to 8,716 units and used-car sales climbing 45.2% to 2,766 units during the nine-month period. This strong performance came despite a tough comparison base due to Japanese brand campaigns (Toyota, Suzuki, Nissan) that ended in March 2024. Around 1,400 units of the new-vehicle sales growth stemmed from Czech acquisitions — three BMW dealerships from NC Auto (Stratos) and the Milan Král Group — plus a Renault and Dacia dealership opened in Budapest last autumn. Service hours jumped 46.8% to 232,742 hours during the nine-month period.

The Wholesale Business Unit recovered strongly in Q3 after posting a 3.7% decline in H1, finishing the nine-month period with a 2.5% increase to 27,924 units. The turnaround was driven by strong Dacia performance, improved Opel sales (primarily in Croatia), and the launch of Nissan operations in Romania.

In the Mobility Services Business Unit — covering short- and long-term vehicle rentals and fleet management — rental events rose 5.8% to 299,983 during the first nine months, while rental days increased 16.8% to 183,433. The average fleet size grew 4.6% to 4,032 vehicles, according to a report on Vivilhetes.net.

AutoWallis CEO Gábor Ormosy noted in the report that the company, now representing 30 brands across 17 countries in the region, has benefited from both organic growth and recent acquisitions. He added that the company’s diversified portfolio enables stable growth even in volatile economic conditions. AutoWallis aims to reach 100,000 vehicle sales by 2028 — 75,000 from wholesale and 25,000 from retail — as part of its updated strategy published last spring, which targets doubled revenue and profit by 2028.

JoAutok received 346,290 visits in September, according to Similarweb data. Auto-Licit attracted 3,805 visitors during the same month.

JoAutok’s main competitors are HasznaltAuto.hu and the auto category of horizontal Jofogas.hu, which are both owned by Ingatlan. HasznaltAuto saw 10.7 million visits in April, while Jofogas’ auto category had 871,646.

AutoScout24 revs up brand portal with Opel as first partner

Patrick Kosmider — Sun, 26 Oct 2025 13:35:08 +0000

The advertising division of Germany-based auto marketplace AutoScout24 has introduced its “brand hub,” a new digital platform designed to give car manufacturers “a dynamic space for brand storytelling within the AutoScout24 vehicle marketplace.” The first partner is Opel, one of Germany’s oldest and biggest car manufacturers, which is showcasing its new Grandland SUV as part of the launch.

The brand hub is directly integrated into the AutoScout24 search environment and lets brands present their vehicles in “an interactive, personalized, and targeted way.” Visitors can explore models in detail, configure their favorite version, and book test drives.

“With the brand hub, we’ve developed a format that not only increases visibility but truly brings a brand to life,” said Mike Klinkhammer, general manager of sales, media and finance, at AutoScout24 Media. “Whether for a broad brand presence or a specific model launch, we work closely with manufacturers to create tailor-made concepts.”

According to AutoScout24, the brand hub follows a three-phase approach that guides users along the customer journey. In the awareness phase, stronger visibility through exclusive placements and advertising ensures that potential buyers take notice of the brand and its models.

The consideration phase then deepens engagement, offering interactive features such as color configurators and 360-degree views that invite users to explore vehicles in detail. Finally, the activation phase provides practical tools like test drive bookings and direct links to vehicle listings, creating a seamless transition from discovery to decision-making.

AutoScout24 Media will manage the entire process: from concept and creation of all advertising materials to site implementation and detailed performance tracking. Additional manufacturer partnerships are already underway, alongside plans for a gradual rollout of the marketing solution across Europe, the company added.

The new brand hub builds on AutoScout24’s extensive reach. According to the company, with more than 2 million vehicle listings and around 30 million monthly users, AutoScout24 is Europe’s largest online car marketplace. Beyond Germany, the AutoScout24 Group operates across major European markets, including Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Poland, and Sweden.

“With the new brand hub on AutoScout24, we are creating another opportunity to bring the Opel brand to life and offer interested parties quick and transparent access to our models,” said Cristiano Colaiacomo, marketing director at Opel Germany.

Cox Automotive ramps up omnichannel retailing

Sharon Hill — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 13:43:00 +0000

Global automotive technology and services company Cox Automotive has unveiled its latest automotive omnichannel digital retailing product, which enables complete vehicle purchases across multiple digital channels.

The rollout, which seems to be an evolution of its Retail360 — announced a year ago — “allows automotive sellers to offer full e-commerce capabilities on their own websites and integrates seamlessly in-store, while also enabling direct purchase of their inventory through AutoTrader and Kelley Blue Book,” according to the company. It adds that it’s intended to provide “a frictionless buying journey, from browsing to purchase, with integrated financing, trade-in valuations and digital contracting.”

According to Cox Automotive’s 2025 Digitization of Car Buying Study, almost two-thirds (65%) of car buyers “perform some or all the process online.” “Having this omnichannel selling approach will be critical to maintaining sales volumes and market share as record-high new vehicle prices, limited affordability and tightening used-car supply threaten to throttle consumer demand,” it said.

“We’ve built the omnichannel platform the automotive industry has been waiting for,” said Jessica Stafford, SVP, consumer solutions, Cox Automotive. “This isn’t website software or a marketplace listing service, it’s a true e-commerce platform that handles the complexity of the entire car buying transaction across every digital touchpoint and in-store. As the only company that owns both the technology platform and the marketplaces, Cox Automotive can deliver seamless automotive retailing everywhere consumers want to shop.”

Hertz, one of several enterprise implementations, now offers complete online purchasing at HertzCarSales.com and through AutoTrader.com using Cox Automotive’s unified infrastructure. “Cox Automotive enables us to deliver on our promise of making car buying easier, whether customers shop on our website, at our Hertz Car Sales locations or through partner channels,” said Jeff Adams, EVP of Hertz Car Sales, in the announcement. “Their technology creates a consistent, transparent experience while their operational infrastructure ensures we can scale efficiently.”

Cox Automotive, one of the world’s largest automotive services and technology providers, reports 2.3 billion online interactions a year. Its brands include AutoTrader, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim, vAuto, DealerTrack, NextGear Capital, CentralDispatch and FleetNet America. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately owned company based in Atlanta. The latter generated $23 billion in revenue last year.

Cox Automotive’s e-commerce focus began in 2018, with the introduction of the Auto Trader Accelerate digital retail program. In 2021, it launched Complete Retail, linking up services and products — including classifieds sites Autotrader and KBB.com — as well as its VinSolutions’ customer relationship management tool and the finance and insurance and dealership management software offered by DealerTrack.

Avito Auto named first choice by Russian car dealers – Autostat agency

Nik Flegont — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 12:25:58 +0000

The vast majority of Russian dealers consider Avito Auto to be the primary online platform for promoting and selling cars, Autostat analytical agency reported. Out of 160 dealers polled, almost two-thirds named Avito Auto as their first choice for selling cars. Drom.ru, based in Russia’s Far East, and Auto.ru, owned by the IT giant Yandex, came in a second and third place, with 14.8% and 12.4%, respectively. Ozon and Yandex Market e-commerce sites that have been dabbling in auto sales, each accounted for 1.2%, while Sber Auto, owned by Sberbank, accounted for 0.6%.

About half of the polled dealers consider Avito Auto the most technologically advanced site for car promotion and sales. Avto.ru ranks second with 21.3%, and Drom is third with 8.3%. Ozon and T-Bank Auto (both 1.8%) shared the fourth place.

Spyne report: Trump tariffs drive buyers to used cars

Deb Stowe — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 22:53:38 +0000

Tariffs brought in by President Donald Trump are poised to increase the price gap between new and used cars in the U.S. in 2026, hiking the cost of new vehicles and driving buyers toward secondhand motors, supporting demand and price stability in the used-vehicle sector.

This is one of the conclusions of Spyne, an India-based automotive retail technology company, in its recent report: 2026 Will Test U.S. Dealership Agility More Than Ever, which forecasts the used-vehicle market will “hold steady thanks to sustained replacement demand and limited availability.”

Analysts predict that used-car values will maintain their level or tick up marginally throughout most of 2026, noted the report.

“If new-vehicle prices climb faster than wages, used vehicles become the release valve,” said Sanjay Varnwal, co-founder and CEO of Spyne. “But even used-car pricing won’t behave uniformly; electrified vehicles, luxury SUVs, and imports will each have their own trajectory.”

Wholesale prices are staying strong because used-car supply is limited and more buyers are turning to pre-owned models. The return of leased vehicles — especially electric cars from 2021-2022 — should increase inventory, but higher repair costs and slower reconditioning may delay their appearance on dealer forecourts.

The report looked at how the combination of new tariffs, shifting supply chain dynamics, and weakening consumer affordability is altering how vehicles are priced, sourced, and sold.

Spyne’s proprietary dealer analytics point to a widening “intent gap”, which the company defines as the lag between consumer browsing behavior and real purchasing action. “This mirrors public sentiment data and serves as a leading indicator of slowdown risk,” found the report.

Affordability crunch

Affordability “remains the soft underbelly of the market,” said the authors, citing Kelley Blue Book data indicating that the average U.S. new-vehicle transaction price reached $50,080 in September, the first time it had crossed the $50,000 threshold, and up 3.6% year over year.

“The Cox/Moody’s Vehicle Affordability Index shows it now takes more weeks of median income to buy a new car than at any time in the past decade,” stated the report, adding that tariffs alone could add $2,000-$3,000 per unit once costs are fully passed on to buyers.

“Tariff exposure and broader economic headwinds are likely to cool U.S. car demand in 2026, as supply complexities intensify,” stated the report authors.

“Tariffs, consumer sentiment, and production shifts will converge in 2026, making the interplay of supply, demand, and price the single most important lens for forecasting dealership profitability and buyer behaviour.”

Dealership inventories have bounced back from their Covid-era nadirs, but sourcing the right vehicles is still difficult amid tariff-related supply realignments.

The report cited Cox Automotive data showing that as of July this year, total U.S. inventory reached 2.83 million units, equivalent to 82 days’ supply, up 12 days from the previous month.

“Import-heavy models are facing allocation volatility as automakers respond to tariffs and rising landed costs,” said Varnwal. “Dealership supply will become more about composition than volume. You might have full lots, but not of the models customers want. The challenge in 2026 is to match the right vehicle to the right buyer faster than anyone else.”

The CEO added that tariffs have caused manufacturing and supply routes to be revised, with automakers re-evaluating sourcing from China, Europe, and Mexico, and suppliers moving to localize production.

In the meantime, “landing a vehicle in the U.S. will involve longer lead times, fragmented shipping routes, and higher compliance friction,” predicted the report.

The report concludes that “2026 will test dealership agility more than ever. While macro conditions remain unpredictable, the ability to react faster than market averages will separate winners from laggards.”

It urged dealers to track not just overall inventory but its alignment with demand, integrate real-time digital metrics, and adjust incentives and financing strategies dynamically — emphasizing payment-focused messaging over price. Dealers should also invest in AI-driven retail systems linking pricing, inventory, and demand analytics.

Spyne is an AI-based automotive retail technology company headquartered in India, with a subsidiary in the U.S. Founded by Sanjay Varnwal and Deepti Prasad, the company provides digital tools for automobile dealerships, including imaging, 360-degree visuals, and AI systems for lead management and customer engagement.

It serves dealerships and OEMs across multiple regions, including the U.S., Europe, EMEA, and APAC, and has raised more than $25 million from investors such as Vertex Ventures SEA and India, Accel, Storm Ventures, and Alteria Capital.

Amazon Autos GM: “Announcements coming” about new brands

Greg Spencer — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 20:30:13 +0000

From left: Presidio Group managing director Jason Stein interviewing Amazon Autos director and GM Fan Jin at the Presidio Automotive Technology Summit
New brands will soon be joining Amazon’s online car sales program, although the company’s keeping s...

Join now to access
the full content.

Report: Ford dealers to sell on Amazon Autos

Greg Spencer — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 15:38:57 +0000

Ford will begin listing used cars on Amazon, becoming just the second car maker after Hyundai to join the Amazon Autos online car sales program, Cars Direct reported.

Citing “a bulletin sent to dealers this week,” the news site said Ford retailers have the opportunity to list Ford Blue Advantage Certified Pre-Owned vehicles on Amazon Autos.

Ford franchise dealers, who have the prerogative to join or not join, have been offered a six-month free trial to take part and have until the end of this year to express interest, the news site reported.

The letter didn’t say whether or not the offer went out to dealers nationwide or to just those in select markets. When Amazon Autos launched publicly in December 2024, it involved only Hyundai dealers in 48 cities. The number of markets has since jumped to 130 with the help of additional dealers from Hertz CarSales, Amazon Autos’s second retail affiliate.

The AIM Group emailed Amazon and Ford to confirm the Car Direct report, but we didn’t hear back immediately from either.

Amazon Autos has been keen to expand to other brands because limited selection is customers’ number-one complaint, Amazon Autos director and GM Fan Jin told participants this week at Presidio Automotive Tech Summit in Denver.

Jin hinted the company would soon add additional brands to its program, but kept that intel close to the vest. “We will be making announcements,” she said.

As the no. 3 biggest brand in the U.S. in terms of sales volume, after GM and Toyota and just ahead of No. 4 Hyundai, Ford could add substantially to Amazon Autos’s selection.

Amazon Autos lets participating dealers list cars on a dedicated section of the retailers’ website, and customers can shop and select cars, arrange financing from a selection of lenders and purchase the vehicle. The last step, vehicle pickup, must be done at the dealership; Amazon does not handle delivery as it does with smaller items.

Vietnam-based motorcycle marketplace Okxe opens Yadea store

Prabhu Prasad — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 14:40:18 +0000

Okxe, a Vietnam-based marketplace for used and new motorcycles, has teamed up with China-based electric-motorcycle manufacturer Yadea to open the latter’s first Vietnamese store.

As part of the deal, Okxe has become a distributor of Yadea’s electric motorcycles in Vietnam. Last year, Okxe entered into a similar agreement with automaker VinFast to offer the latter’s electric motorcycles through an online-merge-offline model — a marketing strategy combining physical and digital channels.

The new Yadea store, located in Hanoi’s Tay Ho Ward, features a showroom, test-ride experience centre and community hub, VnEconomy reports. Okxe said that its collaboration with electric motorcycle manufacturers is part of a strategy to build a “green vehicles ecosystem” in Vietnam.

Vietnam has the highest rate of per capita motorcycle ownership in the world, and the adoption rate for electric motorcycles in the country is growing by around 30% a year — largely driven by younger consumers — according to the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers.

Yadea — whose market share in electric motorcycles in Vietnam is 8.6%, ranking it fourth, according to a study conducted by Kirin Capital — is the world’s biggest electric motorcycle brand by sales: Last year, it sold 100 million units, according to Frost & Sullivan data.

Founded in 2018 by CEO Wooseok Kim, Okxe says its app has been downloaded 8.2 million times to date and that it collaborates with 2,130 dealers and has 1.5 million active users. In July, it raised KRW20 billion ($13.8 million) in Series A funding.

OpenAI, BCG urge auto sites to offer end-to-end, GenAI-native UX

Deb Stowe — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 21:48:53 +0000

Auto sites must harness GenAI and reposition themselves to cover the full car-buying journey, while implementing new business models that do not sacrifice their independence, if they are to stay relevant in an auto market entirely transformed by AI.

The advice comes in a new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and ChatGPT developer OpenAI, which poses the question: Will AI become the best car sales advisor?

The report reveals that the companies’ detailed model suggests that by 2030, more than 40 million car-buying journeys of private customers worldwide every year will be “meaningfully influenced” by GenAI.

“Online car marketplaces must become GenAI-powered advisors, offering seamless, end-to-end, GenAI-native consumer journeys combining vehicles, insurance, home charging, and mobility subscriptions to position themselves as true one-stop ecosystems. The key is not just to compile accurate data but also to infuse it with meaning and context that enables a superior car-buying journey,” wrote the report authors.

“In doing so, they must figure out how to balance maintaining their perceived independence as a trusted, objective advisor with the need to find new monetization models, such as partnering with OEMs and third parties, including leasing companies and banks. In e-commerce, platforms that tilted too far toward vendor-sponsored placements lost consumer credibility. The same risk applies here: if consumers lose trust in an advisor’s objectivity, they will turn to others for advice.”

BCG and OpenAI share the conclusions of the AIM Group’s recent webinar, AI Personal Assistants: Ally or Enemy for Auto Marketplaces? — in collaboration with digital customer engagement specialist Kaisa — that car-buying will be revolutionized by the advent of AI.

Car shoppers aren’t keen on many of the steps in the consumer journey.

The BCG and OpenAI report comments that “many customers find both the offline and online car-buying experience fragmented, opaque, and frustrating. According to a recent BCG consumer survey, almost half of respondents who have recently purchased a car were dissatisfied with the experience.”

So the sector is ripe for disruption.

“GenAI has the potential to transform the car-buying experience,” wrote the two companies. “GenAI will fundamentally empower how consumers discover, evaluate, and commit to life’s biggest purchases — not with clicks, forms, or phone calls, but with natural conversations that truly understand all the nuances of a customer’s needs.”

The report underlines how AI technology is poised to remove several of the oft-bemoaned pain points in vehicle shopping.

Both graphics from BCG and OpenAI report

“Successful transformation will turn a once-fragmented, complex experience into a seamless journey — one that feels as effortless and personal as talking to a friend,” it stated. “It’s a reimagining of trust, simplicity, and personalization in the car-buying experience, powered by GenAI.”

The report describes how today’s car-shoppers are left “navigating a maze of websites, dealerships, financing options, and endless trade-offs. There is no neutral, multidimensional advisor that consumers can consult on their purchase. No online platform filter allows consumers to enter anything about their driving patterns, design preferences, luggage needs, or charging infrastructure at home and work.”

BCG research suggests that many vehicle shoppers would be “willing to pay more in exchange for a simpler, more transparent purchasing experience without the need to compare prices for the same model or engage in negotiation.”

Being able to skip this painful part of the process would be a boon for car shoppers.

“Every second customer finds comparing and negotiating prices to be the single most annoying step in the customer journey; when given the choice, most consumers prefer not to bargain at all,” noted the report.

AI can help personalize the process. Individual car buyers have a complex mix of personal needs, habits, and priorities that static online tools can’t capture.

“This makes the car-buying experience well-positioned for transformation by GenAI in terms of both customer experience and commercial impact. For consumers, buying their next car will become as easy as telling their story,” added the authors.

GenAI-powered assistants could narrow down models, clearly explain the trade-offs, and even schedule test drives and generate pre-filled financing options, and offer real-time, unbiased recommendations across brands and prices.

The report’s authors were Andrej Levin, Robin Wagner, and Ferdinand Harries of BCG, and Michal Bednarczyk, Shikhar Kwatra, and Philipp Eulenberg of OpenAI.

Dubizzle reports 46% adjusted EBITDA margin but remains loss-making ahead of IPO

James Fox — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 07:22:07 +0000

Dubai-based marketplaces operator Dubizzle Group has reported an adjusted EBITDA margin of 46% for H1 2025, up from 31% in the year-earlier period, but it continues to incur net losses, according to its website. The announcement comes as the company moves toward an IPO next month.

Dubizzle noted that Adjusted EBITDA “adjusts for the effects of any non-routine, non-operational one-of items. These include impairment losses on financial assets, fundraising costs, foreign exchange losses, restructuring-related costs and rebranding costs. It also excludes the effects of cash-settled share-based payments.”

The company wrote in a LinkedIn post that this performance was “a testament to our strong fundamentals, resilient UAE business and continued focus on sustainable growth… Our platforms, [marketplace horizontal] Dubizzle and Bayut.com, continue to lead the UAE’s real estate and autos classifieds markets, driving value for millions of users and partners every day.”

Group revenue rose by 26.6% year on year (y-o-y) to $133 million in the first half of 2025, reflecting both organic growth in the UAE and expansion in Saudi Arabia, the company said. Dubizzle reported full-year revenue of $222 million in 2024, up by 0.5% from $221 million in 2023 and 12.3% from $198 million in 2022.

The UAE accounted for 89% of adjusted revenue in H1 2025. During this period, this market delivered $105 million in adjusted revenue, $48 million in adjusted EBITDA and $43 million in adjusted net profit.

“Adjusted revenue corresponds to revenue from contracts with customers adjusted for the cost of motor vehicle inventories,” the company said.

Dubizzle Group remains loss-making, but its net loss has narrowed significantly in recent years — from $127 million in 2022 to $62.3 million in 2024. In H1 2025, it recorded a net loss of just $8.9 million.

The company noted that “These historical losses were primarily due to non-routine, non-operational items, which mainly include share-based payment expense… impairment losses on financial assets related to businesses disposed… and deferred tax arising upon enactment of UAE corporate tax law on goodwill and intangible assets.”

“Excluding these non-routine, non-operational costs, the Group has been profitable on a Group adjusted net profit basis in 2023, 2024 H1 and 2025,” it added.

“Being an asset-light company, growth now trickles down into solid EBITDA,” said CEO Imran Ali Khan.

While the UAE remains its backbone, Dubizzle is scaling quickly in Saudi Arabia, a market Khan described as “growing fantastically.”

The company noted that “Substantial operational resources have already been deployed in KSA, including fully operational offices in Riyadh and Jeddah, a team of over 600 employees as of June 2025 and the implementation of the Group’s scalable technology stack. This includes more than 10 apps and market intelligence platforms, geospatial mapping, neighbourhood-level penetration strategies, agency census data and localised product and pricing models, all supported by over a decade of technology R&D.”

The company said its marketplaces had an average of 18 million monthly active users in H1 2025, with an average of 54 million monthly sessions during this period.

Subscription to Dubizzle Group’s IPO will open on Oct. 23 — also the date on which its price range will be announced — with the company set to list on the Dubai Financial Market on Nov. 6. The final offer price will be announced on Oct. 30. The group intends to offer 30.3% of its share capital, equivalent to 1.2 billion shares.

The company’s largest shareholder, Prosus N.V. — which holds its stake through subsidiary OLX B.V. — has committed to invest $100 million as part of the offering.

Dubizzle Group rival Property Finder raised $250 million in debt financing earlier this month.

Update Oct. 23: The section of the Dubizzle website and the Dubizzle LinkedIn post referred to in this brief have since been taken down. This followed the company’s announcement that it had decided to indefinitely delay its IPO.

AutoTrader SA introduces AI tools for dealers

Sharon Hill — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 07:46:24 +0000

George Mienie, CEO of AutoTrader SA, introduced AutoTrader Intelligence — an AI-focused suite of dealer products — at the Dealer Connect 2025 event in Johannesburg.

While all modules and functionality details will not be released until dealers have had a few weeks to evaluate the product suite and offer feedback, Mienie revealed AutoTrader Intelligence’s main features:

Automated Buyer Engagement connects dealerships to relevant customers who are ready to buy to enhance engagement and increase process speed.
Managing repetitive tasks, such as communications and tracking leads
Optimization of inventory movement: targeting the right audience at the right moment to speed up inventory turnover
Real-Time Data Insights covering shopper behavior, pricing and market trends
It supports targeted advertising and helps to determine pricing and manage inventory
Providing enhanced transparency to build confidence between buyers and sellers

Stephan Venter, director of Jetour Hatfield — a dealership based in Pretoria — wrote in a LinkedIn post: “The central theme [of the AutoTrader Dealer Connect Event] — the profound influence of AI on the trajectory of the automotive industry — was thought-provoking and essential. While the magnitude of this change is notable, the focus must now transition to practical application. I am keen to determine the precise pathways through which these technologies will strategically enable and enhance our capabilities across the dealership network, ultimately helping us perform at a higher level.”

AutoTrader SA was acquired by Naspers subsidiary OLX Group in 2017. Earlier this year, local media reported that AutoTrader SA was investigating a number of employees who had allegedly colluded with dealers to provide them with an undue advantage in accessing private customer vehicle listings in return for bribes.

Avito collaborates with banks on auto loans and real estate insurance

Nik Flegont — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 00:29:55 +0000

The largest Russia-based classified Avito and Sovcombank have started collaboration on developing digital financial services for car buyers. The aim is to allow Sovcombank clients to apply for car loans in a single-window, entirely within Avito interface. The agreement also stipulates that Sovcombank will use Avito Finance to offer its full range of lending products to Avito users.

“Now, customers can quickly and easily apply for a loan while choosing a car on Avito, significantly speeding up and simplifying the entire purchasing process,” said Sergey Khotsimsky, First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Sovcombank.

Avito has also entered into collaboration with AlfaStrakhovanie, the insurance arm of Alfa Bank, a leading private bank in Russia. The parties plan to develop joint products in the areas of long-term and short-term property rental insurance and warranties for electronics purchased on Avito. “Avito has long been a platform where users make significant transactions—from purchasing electronics to renting and selling real estate,” said Alexander Samsonov, director of strategic partnerships at Avito. “The partnership with AlfaStrakhovanie will allow us to strengthen user protection and integrate innovative insurance products directly into the service,” Samsonov said.

Collaboration with Avito is an excellent example of how an insurance product can become part of everyday life, said Vladimir Skvortsov, CEO of AlfaStrakhovanie. The partnership could potentially expand to related segments, including real estate, goods, jobs, and services, as well as comprehensive insurance solutions.

Drom.ru collaborates with Balans-Platforma fintech on auto loans

Nik Flegont — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 22:38:39 +0000

Drom.ru, the leading automotive classified based in the Russian Far East, and Balans-Platforma fintech service for the auto industry have begun collaborating in offering Drom users online loans to purchase cars through the classified’s website and mobile app, the companies told Autostat.ru agency.

Drom has had a c-to-c lending service for many years, one of its top managers Mikhail Shchetinin said. However, is was not suitable for dealers who prefer to provide their finance through their own brokers and do not welcome clients with third-party loans, Shchetinin said. Drom was looking for a partner to provide a similar solution for the b-to-c segment that would be equally convenient for the client and for setting up end-to-end analytics for all parties involved in the transaction.

Balans-Platforma has been developing and implementing digital services to simplify F&I processes since 2017, said Alexey Borodavin, head of the auto vertical at Balans-Platforma.

“Our goal is to create a fast and convenient solution that meets the current customer demand for a car loan in just a few clicks. No lines, no endless forms, and no multiple trips to the dealership. Drom, as a leading classifieds platform, supported us in this endeavor and enabled us to implement the service, which has already attracted over 10,000 customers,” Borodavin told Autostat agency.

For the user, the application process for any type of loan is roughly the same. When they click the ‘buy on credit’ button in the ad, they will be taken to a simple form from Balans-Platforma, which is filled out almost entirely automatically if the applicant had undergone verification through Gosuslugi online public services. The form automatically pulls key data from the client’s digital profile. Since this data had been already verified, the client does not need to go through a lengthy application process and multiple visits to banks and dealers, Drom’s Shchetinin said.

Clients come to the dealership once with a pre-structured transaction that only needs a finishing touch, said Alexey Borodavin of Balans-Platforma. “For dealers and auto makers, this is a way to increase sales and maintain desired margins, as the loan application questionnaires are based on the rates and conditions agreed by the dealers. We offer banks an electronic transaction service, which improves the bank’s economics by eliminating the need for a dealer representative to travel to sign the transaction. Our services also eliminate data errors and all the paperwork,” Borodavin said.

Going forward, Drom plans to let users know the loan amount available to them when they start looking for a car, without even having to fill out credit forms. Balans-Platforma aims to make the service available to 15,000 – 18,000 customers per month by the end of the year.