AI-Based Demand Forecasting... K Car Achieves Highest Quarterly Sales Since Inception in 1Q

Operating Profit 17.6 Billion KRW... 33.4% Increase YoY

South Korea's largest directly operated used car platform, K Car, achieved its highest quarterly sales since its founding in the first quarter of this year. This is attributed to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to predict demand and improve operational efficiency.

K Car announced on the 9th that it posted provisional results of 604.4 billion KRW in sales and 17.6 billion KRW in operating profit for the first quarter of this year. These figures represent increases of 16.4% and 33.4%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. The sales marked the highest quarterly sales ever, and the operating profit was the highest for a first quarter.

K Car explained that the results were due to predicting market demand based on AI, which increased inventory turnover, and improving the efficiency of sales and purchase channel operations. They also analyzed that improvements to the official K Car website, application (app), user interface (UI), user experience (UX), and offline store environment contributed to the performance.

Specifically, used car sales in the first quarter totaled 40,093 units, a 7.7% increase compared to the same period last year. This is the highest quarterly sales volume ever recorded. Among these, retail sales reached 30,612 units, a 3.2% increase year-on-year. The 'Naechasagi Home Service,' which accounts for the largest share of retail sales, saw a 1.3% increase compared to the same period last year. Offline sales also rose by 5.6%.

Auction sales also contributed to revenue growth. The number of direct auction sales at K Car's Osan Auction House and Sejong Auction House increased by 25.7% year-on-year to 9,481 units (excluding consignment sales).

The inventory turnover days in the first quarter decreased to 31 days, down from 33 days in the same period last year and 40 days in the previous quarter. The retail margin per vehicle improved by 12.8% year-on-year to 1.57 million KRW. The extended quality assurance service, K Car Warranty (KW), and related fees also increased by 15.3% compared to the same period last year.

Jung In-guk, CEO of K Car, stated, "We will further strengthen our market dominance based on the largest integrated online and offline network in the country, the largest specialized used car workforce in South Korea, and highly competitive customer services."