By Sonal Desai, NWC, Oct. 17 2007, 1530 hrs
www.carwale.com, a leading auto portal has teamed up with www.sulekha.com, one of the largest classified and online Yellow Pages destination to launch an auto channel that will enable the customer make informed choice while buying or selling cars.
The auto channel will go live on Sulekha by end October.
Online car industry is currently pegged at $35 billion. This includes new cars, used cars, car loans, insurance, etc and the market for new and used cars is growing at 18 and 30 per cent respectively.
Mohit Dubey, CEO, Carwale sees tremendous opportunity for online information service providers. Quoting an IAMA research report, he said that more and more people adopt the online route for search and information. “We get 20,000 unique visitors each day. While most of them either click through ads on Google or other sites, some visitors directly click on Carwale.”
The alliance with Sulekha, Dubey said, will enable the company to grow, increase its reach and expand in geographies. As per the deal, Carwale will manage the auto channel, use its database and synchronize tools and applications. The two companies also have a revenue-sharing agreement.
Carwale aims to sell three million (1.5 million each) new and used cars in 2007-08. Dubey said the ratio between used and new cars is 1:21in India compared to 4:1 in the US. Today, Carwale has more than 12,000 listed used cars and the list expires every month.
“Car manufacturers understand the importance of Internet, the flexibility it offers and the value add that online companies such as Carwale offer,” Dubey added.
The company has on board experts and valuators to enable clients understand the exact value of the automobile at the time or purchase or sale. It also uses valuation tools from banks and other sources for the valuation process. The company conducts 1.5 value checks each month or above 10 lakh annually.
The company has deployed a module similar to customer relationship management at its backend. “It helps dealers capture customer behavior and preferences. Based on that, it enables the car recommendation engine to display models, prices etc. The module also stores information on whether the person would personally drive the car, or it would be chauffeur driven, whether he would use the road or the highway, etc and then recommend the kind of car that would suit the buyer.”
Carwale is also geared up for the payment gateway clause that would be made mandatory for all online transactions, with effect from February 2008. “We have dedicated Netmagic servers that are Verizon powered. Our payment gateway will be powered by the ICICI Bank and CC Avenue,” Dubey said.
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