Carro announces strategic investment into Driven Communications

Carro, Southeast Asia’s largest and most profitable online used car platform, has announced that it is making a strategic investment into Driven Communications, which comprises a portfolio of websites including paultan.org (automotive review and news vertical content), carbase.my (buyer's guide) and oto.my (used car classifieds).

paultan.org is amongst the first and the largest independent automotive review website in Malaysia, drawing monthly active visits of up to 6 million traffic organically and regularly ranks as the top most visited automotive website nationwide. With an emphasis on independent reviews and editorials, paultan.org has grown to be a household brand with a huge loyal following.

As part of the investment, Driven Communications’ co-CEOs Paul Tan and Harvinder Singh will continue to helm the business. The board of directors will remain unchanged and employees will be assured continued employment. Driven Communications will also continue to have complete autonomy over its editorial direction and decisions. The investment is expected to be completed within 2 months.

Strategically, this investment is also a proactive move to promote openness and independence. Recent acquisitions of automotive classifieds and sites by fellow industry players have resulted in multiple dealers/platforms being blocked. This stifles healthy competition and customer access across the region – something Carro hopes to change.