Industry consultant to Carsome IPO Malaysia

Carsome is Southeast Asia’s leading car e-commerce platform, with operations across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore. Specializing in used car transactions, Carsome delivers a fully integrated experience—from car inspection and ownership transfer to financing and ancillary services—making car buying and selling seamless. As Carsome explored the next phase of growth through a potential IPO, it sought a clear understanding of market trends, competitor positioning, and expansion-ready opportunities across Southeast Asia. 

Strategic Gaps

Despite its strong brand presence and operational scale, Carsome encountered critical challenges on its IPO journey:

• Fragmented intelligence on used car markets across key Southeast Asian nations like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. 
• Limited understanding of customer cohorts and market sentiments across different countries. 
• Unclear value capture potential in ancillary services such as insurance, servicing, and financing. 
• Lack of benchmarks to assess how Carsome’s performance stacked up against regional competitors in both operational and financial terms. 

Our Approach

To support Carsome’s IPO ambitions, Ken delivered a multi-pronged market intelligence engagement that combined strategic depth with actionable insights across four core areas:

• In-Depth Market Research: KEN conducted in-depth assessments across five Southeast Asian markets—Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore. The research analyzed the used car ecosystem, demand trends by customer segment, digital readiness, and shifts in online vs. offline transactions. It also focused on consumer behavior, regulatory frameworks, and ecosystem enablers like financing and inspection, offering Carsome a detailed view of current and future market opportunities.
• Competitive Benchmarking: A detailed analysis of 30+ regional players was undertaken to evaluate strategic positioning, customer acquisition models, financial performance, and digital channel effectiveness. This exercise enabled Carsome to pinpoint its competitive strengths and gaps, and identify white spaces in product and service delivery across markets. 
• Business Model Evaluation: Ken Research assessed Carsome’s current operating model against evolving industry norms and investor expectations. The evaluation covered monetization levers, unit economics, platform scalability, and ancillary service integration. Based on these insights, a roadmap was proposed for aligning Carsome’s business model with high-growth and high-margin segments. 
• Location-Based Intelligence: Leveraging performance and demographic analytics, Ken Research identified optimal geographic clusters for Carsome’s future expansion. This included benchmarking peer companies on cost-to-serve, revenue per location, and consumer concentration—helping prioritize high-impact cities and regions for investment, operations, and brand presence. 

Key Outcomes

• Succesful IPO prospectus supported with detailed market insights and recommendations.
• 5 South-East Asian countries analyzed to assess the potential of the used car market.
• 30+ competitors benchmarked to evaluate competitive dynamics and market positioning.

"Ken Research’s in-depth market analysis and competitive benchmarking were invaluable for understanding the Southeast Asian used car market. Their insights helped us strategically position ourselves for an IPO." 
— Piyush Praful Palkar, Chief Data Officer, Carsome