PETALING JAYA: Car e-commerce platform Carsome yesterday launched Carsome Certified Lab, the largest car refurbishment facility in Southeast Asia.
The 185,000 sq ft facility can refurbish up to 2,000 pre-owned cars every month, which Carsome said is an unprecedented scale across the region.
Carsome Certified CEO Mei Han said there are 500,000 transactions for pre-owned cars every year in Malaysia, which offers a great playing field to the company.
“After the pandemic, there are challenges and opportunities in used and pre-owned car markets. The demand for used cars is healthy due to the pandemic, cars have become a necessity for people in Southeast Asia.
“Besides, due to the global chip shortage issue, new cars were out of supply. Therefore, more people bought used cars for their daily use. This is a good opportunity for Carsome’s expansion,“ he told reporters at the virtual launch of Carsome Certified Lab.
Mei said Carsome Certified exists to offer consumers the option of superior pre-owned cars.
“All our cars go through refurbishment at Carsome Certified Lab, so our customers can choose their dream car from our selection of best-in-class, quality-assured cars. This is our continuous effort in eliminating consumer and industry pain points,“ he added.
Mei said Carsome will open more certified lab facilities in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand this year to cover all customers’ demands.
Carsome Certified Malaysia general manager Alan Cheah said the turnaround time for a used car is between five and seven days and the age cap of used cars sold by the company is nine years.
Each Carsome Certified car is selected through a stringent 175-point inspection to ensure that it is free from fire, flood and major accident damage.
“The bulk of the investment is spent on mechanical and general repair, body and paint, as well as car detailing. The works in Carsome Certified Lab cover all parts of the car including internal, external, engine, transmission, suspension, steering, electrical and electronic.
“Each process is performed by skilled and experienced technical specialists while adhering to global safety standards. All these efforts ensure that all Carsome Certified cars are safe, comfortable and look as good as new.”
