Softbank Invests in Mexican Second-hand Car Broker Kavak

Softbank has begun placing larger bets on Latin America’s second-hand car market, with reports emerging that the Japanese technology conglomerate has invested an undisclosed sum of money in Mexican used car platform Kavak.

This is Softbank’s second major investment in Latin America’s used car brokers after it sank money into Brazil’s Volanty.

“We are proud to join with and invest in Kavak Mexico,” Softbank’s chief operating officer Marcelo Claure wrote on LinkedIn, according to Reuters.

“The company is truly transforming the use of mobile devices in the automotive market in Mexico.”

Founded in 2016 by Roger Laughlin, and Carlos and Loreanne García Ottati, Kavak is believed to have employed around 250 people, with most of them based out of Mexico.

Volanty and Kavak are a special kind of used car brokers, bringing together both sellers and buyers online.

Once a buyer finds interest in a car put up for sale on their site, he can visit the broker’s dealership centers, where vehicles are appraised and documented.

Kavak offers 15 months of warranty on the cars it sells and gives the buyer seven days for testing the vehicle.

Such a model for car sales has been proved successful in the United States as well as several European countries.

Softbank, which has set up a US$5 billion fund for investment in the region’s prospective businesses, has often made it clear that mobility is one of the major sectors it wants to place its bets on.