According to the latest traffic estimates on Alexa.com, trafficestimate.com and Google Trends, carwale.com is the most visited Indian car portal. As per Alexa.com’s ‘Traffic Rank in India’, CarWale features amongst the Top 200 websites (Ranked 191). With over 1.6 million visitors over the last 30 days as per trafficestimates.com, it is seen as the most visited Indian car portal.

Only recently, SkodaAuto India announced the launch of its ‘Fabia online sales project’ in association with CarWale.com. It may be recalled that CarWale was the only car portal which offered online booking of Nano during its launch.

The car portal also claims that at least three of the car manufacturers spend around 30-50 per cent of their online budget on Carwale.com alone. While the year 2009 has been very good for CarWale and the portal is expecting 100 per cent revenue growth over the last year, it is also estimated to make some marginal loses primarily because of the investments made. While the year 2008 saw the website accelerate in terms of growth, the year 2009 has seen CarWale further consolidate its market position. Carwale.com expects to break even in Q3 of FY10, and is eyeing a profitable year in 2010.

In conversation with exchange4media, Mohit Dubey, CEO, Automotive Exchange Pvt Ltd, said, “Over the last two quarters, we were able to create product and build client relationships to be able to monetise our traffic, we were also able to sign long term contract with a couple of manufacturers.”

He further said, “We have been able to establish ourselves as thought leader in terms of who understands consumer insight, what’s happening on the ground and where this industry is headed, etc. We could do this very effectively as CarWale goes beyond a research portal, we handhold a customer throughout their car transactions.”

CarWale had re-launched the portal a few months back with a new design aiming to position itself as an auto portal that attracts not only a country’s largest used car listing but also the preferred destination for research and information related to new cars.

According to Dubey, “The advantage of CarWale is its ability to attract the buyer or seller for new and used car, and in a way we are becoming a market place, and this has the potential to change the way cars are retailed in this country.”

This apart, CarWale is ready with its mobile site and plans to launch it in December 2009. “Increasingly, India is reaching a critical mass for broadband. In fact, in six months we may have PC or laptops for even less than Rs 10,000, which will further fuel growth of web users. Today, 25 per cent of people who buy car come online, and we expect this to grow to 50 per cent in less than two years,” concluded Dubey.