The South American e-commerce giant Free market and Brazilian financial services provider Creditas are launching a partnership to allow MercadoLibre users to apply for used car loans in Mexico, the companies said Thursday.
MercadoLibre, the omnipresent rival of amazon in Latin America, it has partnered with Creditas in an effort to attract customers in a country with low credit penetration, MercadoLibre’s auto chief in Mexico, Jaime Ugalde, told Reuters.
Used car lots are being recruited to join the platform, and the two companies hope to expand pre-owned offerings throughout Mexico starting with capital Mexico City, Creditas country manager Gabriela Rolon said.
“This is also very good for sellers,” Rolon said, citing the ease of transactions, adding that prospective buyers will be able to purchase car lots knowing that a specific amount has been approved for their down payment.
In Mexico, the demand for used cars has steadily increased along with supply chain disruptions exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraineaccording to industry experts.
In the first half of this year, MercadoLibre users’ searches for cars with less than 40,000 kilometers and less than five years doubled. The alliance has already been activated with some publications on the site, where a button appears to send a request with Credits.
“I think that for someone who, for example, wants their first car and has no credit history, it can be a super option for someone who wants an older car, which is perhaps cheaper because it is enough for them,” said Ugalde. .
The Argentine platform MercadoLibre has largely served as online classifieds so far for cars, Ugalde said, with users selling cars to others without transactions through the website.
Ugalde added that MercadoLibre aims to verify all of its users before the end of the year to prevent scams that have prompted the Mexican government to issue warnings.
