Drivers will be able to auction their cars to second-hand auto dealers via an online platform to be launched in Asia by regional car classifieds site iCar Asia.

The new site, CarlistBid.my, will allow car dealers to bid against each other for used cars direct from sellers.

It’s a concept not known in Australia — but if successful the system will be launched across Asia.

iCar Asia (ASX:ICQ) will market the service to its database of sellers and buyers — which it says is the largest network in Malaysia with 3 million unique visitors and potential sellers per month and some 3000 dealers.

The platform will be launched firstly in Malaysia, then rolled out in in Thailand and Indonesia. In a test trial, it generated $720,000 in sales within four months, the group says.

“With a network of approximately 12 million monthly visitors per month that are potential car sellers, plus over 10,000 existing seller accounts and potential auction bidders across the region, iCar Asia is well placed to scale this business up over the coming months,” said CEO Hamish Stone.

iCar Asia’s shares rose 6 per cent to an intraday high of 25.5c on Monday. It reported a 41 per cent jump in revenue in February.

The group, like several online classified ASX stocks, has been on an upward trend over the past year.

Since hitting an all-time low of 17.5c in November, the shares have been on the improve. They hit their highest point since late April on the back of the auction news. Year-on-year, ICQ shares are up 8.9 per cent.

LatAm Autos (ASX:LAA), which offers similar online car classifieds in Latin America, have been one of the best performers among small cap and major ASX-listed classified companies such as Car Sales, Seek and Domain.

They’ve seen a 124 per cent increase-year-on-year, taking them to a market cap of $87.1 million.

LatAm Autos (ASX:LAA) have been the best-performing of the online classified stocks over the past year.

Frontier Digital Ventures (ASX:FDV), which invests in classifieds businesses in underdeveloped, emerging countries, trended down over the last 12 months, its shares dropping 8.5 per cent.

Spanish online classifieds publisher Mitula Group (ASX:MUA) saw its shares soar 73pc when it was approached for takeover by Tokyo-listed real estate data business LIFULL. Shareholders in LIFULL have since approved the issue of shares to Mitula shareholders, and the deal now awaits Supreme Court approval.

Rent.com.au (ASX:RNT), which offer rental property listings, have rocketed 38pc in the past year as they ramp up their suite of products for renters such as contents insurance and the launch of an app.

At the big end of town, job listings site Seek (ASX:SEK) is up 15 per cent year-on-year, Carsales.com (ASX:CAR) is up 8 per cent. In the property listings space, REA Group (ASX:REA) has risen 36 per cent while Domain (ASX:DHG) is down 10 per cent over the period.

Featured Companies

You might be interested in