Car traders hit top gear as new site goes online
Another online automotive trading and information site will race into Polish cyberspace next month with the launch of Automarket.pl (www.automarket.pl).
The used-car trading site is the brainchild of Daewoo Corp. President Byeong-Eal Jong, who is also the president of the new Automarket.pl company. Jong said, however, that the company is not another affiliate of the huge Korean multinational trading company, but an independent joint venture of firms involved in the automotive, information technology and internet businesses. Those firms include IT company DDC, automotive magazine publisher Laborpress, insurance company Daewoo Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeniowe, National Investment Fund (NFI), Magna Polonia, and car dealers AICE Polska, Salon D.U. and Zocar, which all have electronic-commerce experience with car sales.
Automarket.pl will start its operations with zl. 6 million ($1.4 million), or zl. 200,000 contributed by each of the company's shareholders, Jeon said. It will be the fourth web site in the country devoted to advertising automobiles and providing car-related information. The other sites are Trader.pl (www.trader.pl), Moyeauto.pl (www.moyeauto.pl) and Autozakup (www.autozakup.pl). Unlike the other three sites, Automarket.pl brings to the table the combined experience of its partners, who have knowledge of the automotive market in Poland, Jeon said. The company is aiming for an initial public offering of its shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange by the end of next year, he added.
"(For) Polish customers, cars are their personal treasure No. 1," Jeon said. "This is why everyone has an interest in cars in Poland. If we are in the business, there will be very big fruits not only for the shareholders, but also for the company."
In its initial stage, Automarket.pl will offer business-to-consumer used-car sales, allowing listings of all makes and models from used-car dealerships, leasing companies and auto consignment shops called autokomis in Polish. Prospective buyers can use the site's search engine to enter a particular make and model and then browse the matches. The choices can be placed in a virtual shopping basket while browsing other offers. After customers select the most attractive offer, they must contact the seller directly to conduct the transaction.
Within six months after its launch, Automarket.pl would become a conduit for business-to-business (B2B) auto sales, he said. However, Jeon stressed that the site will not serve as a sales outlet for Daewoo cars. The B2B trading opportunities will feature special offers from auto importers. Once those offers are in place, the site will generate revenue from commissions, he said.
The site will also provide information on car-related services, such as insurance, loans and leasing. Unlike the other Polish auto web sites, Automarket.pl will present a legal status verification of autokomis offers to assure customers that cars in the database aren't stolen. In addition, the site will give technical assessments by associations of automotive experts to evaluate the condition of the cars.
Wojciech Drzewiecki, president of Samar, an independent auto research company, said there is still a niche for selling cars via the internet in Poland. Although he said he never heard of Automarket.pl, Drzewiecki added that TP Internet, the internet company of Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA), was gearing up to start a similar site providing car-related information and a place for dealers to advertise their inventories.
Drzewiecki added that despite the three existing auto web sites in Poland, it would take more time before prospective buyers started going online to look for a car.
"Most people will try other possibilities to sell their cars," he said. "The last chance (for them) is the internet." After recently putting his own car up for sale on Trader.pl, Drzewiecki received only two online inquiries. He eventually sold the car to a friend, he said.
