Mochou Lee
China’s Craigslist, 58.com, is investing RMB one billion (USD 15.7 million) in the second-hand car trading business.
Yang Haoyong, co-CEO of 58.com, which bought its rival Ganji.com in April, said the company changed the name of Ganji’s second-hand car website, Ganji Haoche or Ganji Good Car, to Guazi Secondhand Car Sales, Guangzhou based New Express reported.
“The move will help to accelerate the platform to become an independent company, affiliated to 58.com, but focusing on the second-hand trading business,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday.
China’s second-hand car trading market is expanding. According to the China Automobile Dealers Association, domestic second-hand car trading volumes may top 10 million in 2015 and are likely to double by the end of 2020, with sales exceeding RMB one trillion.
The company has invested USD 200 million in the second-hand car trading business. Its users have grown since its merger with Ganji. Ganji Haoche covers 40 cities in China with about 600 secondhand car dealers.
Guazi Second-hand Car Sales already has competitors. Autohome Inc. and Yiche.com are the other two main players in China’s second-hand car business. Yang says he’s confident 58.com’s new platform will soon lead the market in the not too distant future.
Edited by Rohan Malhotra
(Mochou Lee is a guest writer at AllChinaTech.com)