Southeast Asia’s used motorcycle platform iMotorbike, which raked in $2.5 million of revenue in its first year of operations, aims for a 8 times growth in 2023.
“We clocked $2.5 million (MYR10.5 million) revenue – in 2022. We are gross profitable at every single motorbike sold,” its Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Gil Carmo told TechNode Global in an interview. “We forecast, in 2023 to hit $20 million in revenue. In 2022, we did close to 2,000 transactions, of which transactions were in Malaysia and Vietnam combined.”
According to him, iMotorbike has seen a 20 percent increase in quarterly sales in the pre-loved motorcycle market this year. “Our site has over 150,000 monthly visitors and 5,000 registered dealers from across Southeast Asia where we operate,” he added.
iMotorbike is Southeast Asia’s pioneering e-commerce platform for buying and selling motorbikes. iMotorbike said it offers a fast, secure, and hassle-free online experience with 170 inspection checkpoints, a 100 percent money-back guarantee return policy, warranty, nationwide delivery and a bundle of finance, road tax and insurance. Headquartered in Singapore and have a growing presence in Malaysia and Vietnam, it said its mission is to address four pain points associated with buying and selling pre-loved motorbikes: reliability, transparency, market fragmentation, and time consumption. Today, iMotorbike is in six locations across Malaysia and Vietnam. The company plans to move into more tier-2 markets in Malaysia with its inspection centers and into other countries.
“In 2023, we aim to have 30 inspection centres spread out into more towns and cities across the country. This includes showrooms which will bring us closer to the consumer, helping them buy and sell their bikes to iMotorbike. More hubs means better reach, as we transport the bikes flexibility and it decreases the cost for the customers,” Carmo said.
iMotorbike, which plans to raise its Series A funding round, has raised a total of $1.6 million in funding over seven rounds, according to data platform Crunchbase. Their latest funding was raised on Sep 3, 2021 from a Seed round.
“We have been part of accelerator programs from US and China. When we were in the classifieds, we raised some money and then again once we pivoted to this current business model, and now we’re going for our Series A,” Carmo said.
“We had the angel seed round first, preseed, and then we had a continuation of that for this new business model and right now we’re doing our series A. Up till today, we raised close to $1.6/1.7 million. So we’re doing a $3 million to $5 million round and we’re also doing equity and debt finance,” he added.
iMotorbike counts SOSV, The Hive Southeast Asia, 500 Global, Alto Partners Multi-Family Office among its investors, according to Crunchbase.
In the interview, Carmo also shared iMotorbike’s plans in 2023, and the outlook of the motorbike market, among others.
Below are the edited excerpts:
What has the past 12 months been like for your business? Can you share the numbers from last year of how many transactions you made?
Our site has over 150,000 monthly visitors and 5,000 registered dealers from across Southeast Asia where we operate.
iMotorbike has seen a 20 percent increase in quarterly sales in the pre-loved motorcycle market this year. Our site has over 150,000 monthly visitors and 5,000 registered dealers from across Southeast Asia where we operate.
We clocked $2.5 million revenue (RM10.5 million) – in 2022. We are gross profitable at every single motorbike sold. We forecast, in 2023 to hit $20 million in revenue. In 2022, we did close to 2,000 transactions, of which transactions were in Malaysia and Vietnam combined. In 2023, we are aiming for over 1,000 transactions per month.
What is your roadmap into achieving the 1,000 monthly transactions and obtaining the $20 million revenue target?
We’ve learnt since we started this business that the more bikes we purchase, the more bikes we sell and it’s really really fast and there’s no greater magic to it.
Obviously there’s operational excellence that we need to aim for and that’s what keeps bringing in customers and that’s what makes it work. But we are super excited about our technology enhancements which will improve the speed of how we buy and sell bikes. We are also looking to close the next round of funding as well, that will definitely help us to superspeed the growth of our business and in the multimarket.
How are you confident this will be possible?
Two-wheelers remain a viable, low-maintenance option for many commuters, e-commerce riders and micro tourism operators, amongst others. According to the Federation of Asian Motorcycle Industries, new motorcycle purchases in Malaysia to-date have hit 501,587 units, already surpassing last year’s total of 499,175 motorcycles. There are an estimated 16 million registered motorbikes in Malaysia currently.
We recognise that owning new motorcycles may be financially steep for some, and as such, iMotorbike offers affordable pre-loved motorbikes (with the same benefits of a new bike) – including in the B2 category – with guaranteed quality as all bikes have undergone and passed a minimum 170-point inspection.
Motorbikes purchased through iMotorbike also include a 6-day return policy and 6 months warranty – which gives peace of mind to buyers. The process is also fast, secure and simple as we also offer insurance & roadtax service.
The more motorbikes we buy, the more we can sell.
We offer buyers and sellers a process that is hassle free, convenient, professional, trustworthy and credible. Sellers get cash on the spot upon inspection which takes 20 – 30 mins max.
iMotorbike appeals to the masses – everyone can own a bike, everyone who owns a bike – small, big, new, old, young, etc – can connect with us. We trade any type of motorbike.
What updates can we expect from iMotorbike in 2023?
1) Technology
A – Leads management enhancement
We have a huge number of buyers and sellers lead buckets – but currently, there are 2 separate departments crunching the data. The new technology will allow us to have higher precision in matching our buyers and sellers using behavioural / AI – this allows us to sell even before the buying process! And within the same day, clear inventory faster – even within a few hours.
B – Inventory management enhancement
– We currently buy the bikes and support them with in-house warranty. We want to extend the feasibility of the lifecycle of the bike – so we can rebuy and resell the same bike and have a full history of the bike’s life. The more we capture 360 of the interaction of these bikes in the market, better the service, higher opportunity to resell, upsell
C – Expanded website functionality – so customers can book their bikes for maintenance, inspection test rides, make downpayment online and more.
2) Geography – Today, we are in 6 locations across Malaysia and Vietnam. We will be moving into more tier-2 markets in Malaysia with our inspection centers and into other countries.
In 2023, we aim to have 30 inspection centers spread out into more towns and cities across the country. This includes showrooms which will bring us closer to the consumer, helping them buy and sell their bikes to iMotorbike. More hubs means better reach, as we transport the bikes flexibility and it decreases the cost for the customers.
Any interesting insights, trends and observations you can share regarding your buyers and sellers?
● More and more sellers are seeing the value of the clear process, easy experience of selling their motorcycles to us, we have even experienced customers coming all the way from Johor or Terengganu just to get their bikes inspected and sold to us.
● More and more buyers are aware of the scammers in both private and professional sectors, as we put our name out digitally with clarity and transparency.
On top of this, we provide a super experience in buying from us as buyers have peace of mind that our post purchase policies provide. Buying via iMotorbike becomes a no brainer.
● Most popular bike models traded are still the “capchai” from Yamaha and Honda. (RS150 & Y15) – Scooters are popular too
● Largest age group of sellers / buyers: ranges from 18 to 45 years old
● Top 3 locations with highest trade: Greater KL, Johor, Terengganu
● Main reasons for trading: Upgrade, Downgrade or trying something different
Three reasons why would you say 2023 would be the “Year of the Bike”?
1)It’s financially efficient.
With recession looming, people will have less spending power, and will be spending more consciously – discretionary and disposable income will be tight. Consumers may start to downsize from heavy maintenance commitments, instalments to the bank, and crimp on fuel, for example.
Motorbikes present an affordable alternative – for the same level / distance in commute, you would be spending MYR16 vs car MYR300 to fuel up.
Insurance is 10 to 20X cheaper. This is especially attractive for first time vehicle owners – who want to have their first asset – affordably
2) It’s energy efficient.
Internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles emit 2x or 3x more pollution (carbon gases) into the air. For the environmentally conscious customer – preloved motorbikes from iMotorbike are in good condition, and come with warranty, so there’s peace of mind that aspects of safety are looked into. There is no wastage or dumping of components, materials as we try to repair and spruce up bikes to be “ever-road-ready”. All bikes sold to
iMotorbike are fitted and fixed to be sold out within 20 days on average. Electric motorcycle producers are heavy into R&D, creating more sustainable environment and ecosystem
3) It’s time and space efficient.
Urban infrastructure in most SEA cities, including KL, is not built to support an increase in cars. This results in traffic jams, and people feel they waste their life spending time behind the wheel. Motorbikes allow you to reclaim your time. And reclaim your money for living!
4) It’s a great avenue for added income
With businesses opening up and an increase in inflation rates as well as higher fuel prices, we expect to see more people turning to bikes as a mode of transportation and as a means of generating income. The volume of transactions for e-hailing and deliveries shot up during the pandemic and even afterwards, is holding good pace.
We hope the government will review a subsidy to allow more people to mobilise for such work quickly and affordably to generate side income. More than 47,000 new Class B2 licences are expected to be obtained each year and enabling a segment of the market to hop into this new sector will help alleviate financial burdens.
As a startup, how are you gearing up for 2023?
We have been managing cash to the point that we were told that we are “too cash efficient”, we care about every single dollar spend and harvest more than growth at all costs.
What are the interesting differences — buyers/sellers habits, supply/demand, procedures/protocols — you’ve seen between the Malaysian market and the Vietnamese market?
a) Roads & Regulations: Malaysian roads and infrastructures make the riding experience and usage of motorcycles very different from what you would get in Vietnam.
In Malaysia, the roads in the cities are wider and have far less density of vehicles, especially motorcycles. This makes it far easier for motorbikes then, to navigate and to drive a much higher level of speeds. Vietnam has more traffic congestion, and its road infrastructure is less developed.
Vietnam also has traffic regulation systems that enforce on the rider a much more cautious commuting approach. That single factor makes motorcycle riders in Vietnam move at low speed and thus the motorcycles are less mechanically exerted compared to the ones in Malaysia.
b) Ownership: Vietnam has more than 70 million registered motorcycles compared to the 16 million registered in Malaysia.
c) Average kilometres made per year by an average motorcycle user: Vietnam = 20,000 to 30,000km, while Malaysia = 10,000 to 15,000 km.
d) Vehicle ownership transfers: The process in Malaysia is fairly clear and straight forward with official documentation i.e Identity Card and thumbprint on JPJ or MyEG machine. In Vietnam, one would need to go to a notary office, present a variety of different documents to get the vehicle across to your name.
e) Perception: Vietnamese regard their motorcycles as more valuable compared to Malaysians, and this has a huge impact on how they take care of their motorcycles (super clean and shiny), and how they groom them with features and protective elements, as compared to Malaysians that place a premium on the ride experience and the mechanical shape of the motorcycle instead of the aesthetics of it.
What do you feel about competition?
The market we are addressing is huge, and today we are the only player in Southeast Asia addressing it, although similar successful models exist in other parts of the world ie Mundimoto, Ozon, Credr, Beepkart. I believe there’s room for several players to grow in this ecosystem and take it to the next level, while expanding and the market and making it exciting businesses.
How about the prospect of a used car platform either competing, buying over, or investing in iMotorbike?
Based on today’s data, there’s no single company in the line of automotive that also does motorcycles as trade, as there is huge competition in that space and with so much to do, it is unlikely that they would venture into this space. That said, they would be in a better position to address the question than we are.
While in theory it seems like a similar business but in reality, it has a different target audience, and requires different operational capabilities and skills in marketing and sales – and stepping in to this space may mean spreading themselves thin and possibly compromising their core focus altogether.
You’ve had multiple rounds of funding already? How much have you raised? And how much do you plan to raise?
We have been part of accelerator programs from US and China. When we were in the classifieds, we raised some money and then again once we pivoted to this current business model, and now we’re going for our Series A.
We had the angel seed round first, preseed, and then we had a continuation of that for this new business model and right now we’re doing our series A.
Up till today, we raised close to $1.6/1.7 million. So we’re doing a $3 million to $5 million round and we’re also doing equity and debt finance.