Mr. Napol Chaisilwattana, CEO of Carmana Co., Ltd. began: "Carmana can be categorized as a 'AutoTech' company since we would like to answer evolving behaviors of Thai consumers who are open to new businesses driven by innovations and technologies. We pride ourselves on service swiftness, convenience, and credibility as we are a used car marketplace with full-fledge services including marketplace, car finder service, our proprietary 'Price Guarantee Program', 186 points detailed car inspection service, auto insurance service, ownership transfer service, auto financing service with low interest, and free consultant service. We provide every service of ours with transparency in mind as Carmana does not requires middlemen and this is resulted in trust from customers who had tried our class-leading services by themselves or ones who heard the name of Carmana from real customers. At present, the number of used car listed on our website is at 4,000 which is significantly higher than our product availability expectation which was once set at 3,000 units by the end of 2017."
During the past year, Carmana has been boosted by word-of-mouth from real customers and their feedback is admirably positive. Based on Carmana's survey, 93% of customers satisfy with services offered by Carmana and their response are backed by five marvelous reasons: 1) excellent service of staff, 2) no financing fee, 3) one-stop service for convenience, 4) special interest rate, and 5) hassle-free document preparing service. From the aforesaid survey, 84% of customers are willing to recommend Carmana to others.
In terms of demographics, 59% of Carmana's customers in the year 2017 are male and the rest are female. 36% of customers are 26 – 35 years of age followed by customers aged 36-45 years old (34%), and 46 years old and above at 22% respectively. Based on search queries, sedan car is a preferred vehicle platform for both sellers and ones who are looking for best deals while Toyota is the brand with highest trade-ins as well as the brand in which a majority of customers would like to own. Furthermore, 8.2 million visits happened last year and 1.6 million of them were in December 2017. The number of visitors once increased by 40% on a quarterly basis while Facebook fan page of Carmana.com is now being followed by 84,000 Facebook users and the figure is steadily increase.
"Carmana would like to be a new alternative to customers as we are entering our second year in business. To ensure our intention, we are going to invigorate Thai used car market and enhance experiences of our customers," continued Mr. Napol. Our website is now overhauled to maximize user experience. For example, those who are looking for used cars in pristine condition can use search filters or search bar to see only vehicles that fit their needs. On the other hand, customers who wish to trade their vehicles in can attract interest of buyers with preinstalled photo editing tools including image cropping option."
A newly-introduced "Car Refinancing Service", catered to reaffirm Carmana's status as Thailand's most comprehensive C2C used car website, allows car owners to use their cars as an assurance for loans so they can continue to pursue their dream goals in business or education. They can also do a refinance while they are under their installment period, in which vehicle registration booklets are usually kept by borrowers, so they can get cash for settling the current car loan program. Customers who use this service will be able to get fund they need and continue to own their vehicles. In addition, Carmana also provides a document pick up service and a friendly monthly interest rate. The program is co-managed by credible financial institutions namely Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri), Thanachart Bank, Krungthai Auto Lease, Klangsetagarn, Ngerntidlor, and iLease Innovation.
"80% of customers need our assist on car financing so we therefore have to fill all the gaps. Car owners who trade their cars in with Carmana highly recommend interested buyers to use financing services offered by Carmana to facilitate all essential financing and ownership transfer process. Carmana's financing service is superior than others since we provide favorable advantages to customers including 1) consultation by experts, 2) partnership with trusted banks and auto leasing firms such as Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri), Tisco Bank, ICBC Bank, Citi Leasing, or Klangsetagarn so customers can see all best options, 3) no processing fee, 4) quick approval process within one working week, 5) we welcome cars purchased from our website as well as other dealers, and finally 6) a low interest promotion for used passenger cars at only 2.79 percent per year has been offered since December last year and the campaign is greatly welcomed by customers," added Mr. Napol.
To top above all impeccable services, Carmana is more than pleased to reveal countless promotions during Bangkok Used Car Show 2018—running from 2 to 8 April 2018—at the booth No. C3, IMPACT, Muangthong Thani. Selected used passenger cars certified with Carmana's 186-point inspection program await customers at the event as well as an exclusive hands-on experience with a real-time used car browsing on Carmana.com. Throughout March, customers who pre-registered with Carmana will be overjoyed with special privileges at Carmana's exhibition stand. Registration can be made at Carmana.com or at 02-026-3433.
About Carmana.com
Carmana.com is a customer-to-customer online platform for used cars. Carmana provides one stop services to buyers and sellers of used cars including ownership transfer service, car inspection, financing and insurance services through its website & physical hub at Rama 3 Road, Bangkok.
For more information, please visit our website at www.carmana.com or facebook.com/carmanathailand.