Jakarta. Leading consumer automotive and transportation company Mitra Pinasthika Mustika, also known by its IDX ticker MPMX, recently announced a partnership with Southeast Asia's largest used car marketplace Trusty Cars Pte Ltd or Carro.

Late last month, MPMX and Carro inked a sales and purchase agreement, in which Carro invested $53.8 million or about Rp783.8 billion to become the 50 percent shareholder of Mitra Pinasthika Mustika Rent or MPMRent.  

This investment marks the start of MPMX partnership between MPMX and Carro to provide an end-to-end ecosystem for consumers in Indonesia, including online marketplace, financing, rental, repair and aftersales.  

MPMX group chief executive officer Suwito Mawarwati thanked the company’s parent shareholder Saratoga Investama Sedaya in realizing this partnership.

“MPMX and Saratoga believe that Carro is an excellent partner that would be able to add  strategic value to the business of the company [MPMX] through its standing track records of  success and operational experiences in a fully-integrated online automotive ecosystem,” Suwito said in a recent press statement.

“his is an important and exciting next chapter for MPMRent whereas this partnership will create a one-of-a-kind integrated online and offline automotive  ecosystem in Indonesia that offers a complete product and services offering for our customers using the marketplace, from rental and financing to insurance serving  B2B and B2C markets,” Suwito added.

Commenting on the partnership, Carro chief executive officer Aaron Tan said that Carro remained steadfast and committed to investing and advancing its business in Indonesia despite the uncertain global macro environment.

“We look forward to partnering with MPM to supercharge growth and transform the customer’s experience through the hundreds of engineers and data scientists across the Carro Group,” Aaron said.

Strategic Rationale 

Capitalizing on the inherent strengths of both companies, the partnership presents a win-win situation for both MPMX and Carro, according to the press statement. 

MPMX has made continuous efforts to unlock the value of existing businesses, as well as invest in  innovation and accelerate its digital transformation. 

Carro brings its fully integrated online ecosystem from car marketplace to financing, big data, AI access to a fast-growing vehicle database, and relevant computer vision and pricing algorithms technologies. 

As a result, MPMRent will now be able to solidify its leading market position as the leading regional car rental company in Southeast Asia,  providing access to a rapidly growing network of workshops, strategic nationwide rental and auction locations, a profitable and diversified customer base, and strong  operational capabilities.  

Building on both companies’ commitment to their strategy and continued transformation to delivering a globally relevant platform for next-generation products and services in the automotive marketplace, the joint venture will also amplify value  for both customers and dealers. 

This includes giving access to a wider selection of quality used cars within their inventory throughout the rental and post-rental period; better quality-management and control practices and further digitizing MPMRent’ services to ensure a smooth and seamless journey for B2B customers.