OLX new service spurs online trade in pre-owned vehicles

Spurred by the rapid gowth of vehicle owners subscribing to their new service that offers to sell vehicles on behalf of clients, OLX Kenya says it could roll the service to two other towns in the coming months.

According to the online classifieds platform, 1,000 vehicles are listed on OLX daily with the average time it takes to complete a sale down to two weeks.

OLX Kenya Country Manager Peter Ndiang’ui said that the number of pre-owned vehicle transactions on the site had jumped, promising the possibility of churning increased revenue for the firm.

“We are not only surprised by the volumes being transacted but are happy that for the first time we have a viable alternative to car sales yards across the county,” Mr Ndiang’ui said.

OLX charges those selling cars a booking fee of Sh2,000 that is then given to salespeople to actively look for buyers.

The salesperson handles the entire selling process from posting the advert to sourcing for a buyer, negotiating and finally closing the deal.

OLX created an escrow account where the money from a car sale is deposited and remitted to the seller in an effort of ensuring safe and reliable transactions.

The online classifieds firm has increasingly been turning its attention to vehicle sales as it looks to grow income after previously giving free listing services.

Mr Ndiang’ui said second hand car sales could have the potential of being a major revenue driver for OLX.

“With over 100,000 cars traded annually, at least 40 percent find their way on OLX. It is for this reason we are placing our focus on vehicles first, which is a very key category for our business,” he said.

The service is currently only available in Nairobi, with plans to scale it up across the country.