ICar Asia Thailand Ltd is upbeat about its business prospects although its bottom line remains in the red after a four-year presence in Thailand.
The company is part of iCar Asia Ltd, the owner and operator Asean's leading network of automotive portals listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
The local unit owns and operates Thailand's leading online automotive portals, one2car.com, autospinn.com and thaicar.com.
Pornladda Dathratwibul, iCar Asia Thailand's country manager, said the company expects to break even and become profitable in the next 2-3 years.
ICar Asia Thailand's reported revenue increase of 12.2% in 2016 to A$2.75 million (73.3 million baht) from $2.45 million in 2015.
Thailand accounted for about 30% of the group's revenue, totalling $6.6 million in 2016, second only to Malaysia.
Thailand's key revenue streams stemmed largely from subscription-based service fees paid by automotive dealers, advertising banners and event management.
Subscription-based service fees made up 60% of the company's total revenue, with advertising banners and event management accounting for the rest.
Ms Pornladda said the company expects revenue to grow 30% this year, driven by the launch of user-friendly applications, wider coverage of automotive services, as well as partnership expansion with financial service providers and dealers.
"Our business is growing and we are ambitious about developing our portals to become a one-stop automotive channel, providing services not only for used cars, but also new cars, car leasing, insurance policies, auto parts, vehicle inspection and auto parts warranty services," she said. "One key challenge right now is how we will entice provincial dealers to sign up with our website and use our applications."
The company is teaming up this month with Thanachart Bank and insurance broker Rabbit Finance to provide car financing and insurance services, respectively.
The company is also establishing a quality inspection service department for used cars, car parts and big bikes. The department is scheduled to kick off next month.
Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, iCar Asia is focused on developing and operating leading automotive portals in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.