Buying a car is easy, but when the time comes to sell it, many face the problem of finding the right buyer. With that, their listing could be put up for a prolonged period of time, which ends up shaving the value of the car to be sold. Or worse, they might end up selling their car at a huge loss.
Plus, the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed consumers worldwide to move their shopping patterns online. This includes the automotive industry, which traditionally thrives on face-to-face interactions — and the chance to do the proverbial “kick the tyres”.
Chinese tech giant Huawei has solved this problem with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing. Together with UCARS, an online second-hand car marketplace, Huawei provided the platform users with enhanced transparency, security and satisfaction.
With the help of Huawei Cloud, UCARS is able to deepen consumer trust by integrating better infrastructure and cloud security into the platform, and embarking on several AI-related projects to improve customer experience. These include a Car Image Search Engine powered by machine vision and machine learning, as well as an improved AI Valuation Tool. All of them are developed on ModelArts, Huawei’s AI platform.
The AI-powered car search engine tool leverages machine vision and image recognition to find a specific vehicle that the user desires. That way, consumers can better identify the make and model of a car using only images.
Meanwhile, Huawei has provided the AI capabilities to allow UCARS to successfully launch a proprietary valuation tool on the platform that provides consumers with an estimate of their cars’ resale value within seconds, making it the first instant AI Car Valuation Tool in Southeast Asia.
Unlike other valuation methods that take at least a day to give an estimate, the UCARS AI Valuation Tool is the fastest valuation tool available to consumers in the region. And with increased usage of the tool, the accuracy of each valuation improves.
“This is a really exciting time, where we see more Singapore companies like UCARS harness the power of AI to change the way they do business,” says Nicholas Ma, CEO of Huawei International.
“Huawei is excited to embark on this innovative journey with more ecosystem partners to help digitalise and deepen consumer trust, to improve the customer journey and experience, as well as fuel economic recovery in Singapore together,” he adds.
Car owners in Singapore can now sell their cars more easily on the UCARS platform. With the new upgrades, cars could be sold within just three days at the best prices.
By getting a better estimate on the value of their car, consumers can sell their car on the UCARS platform with ease of mind, knowing the amount they can expect to get back, and at a fraction of the usual time it would take on other automotive platforms.
“We reckon that some Singaporeans are anticipating an economic rebound in the near future, and coupled with pent-up demand for cars and reduced quotas, we are expecting to see car sales skyrocket in the coming months,” says Cho Kok Yick, chief technology officer at UCARS.
“We want to make the second-hand car selling process as safe and as easy as possible, which is why we continuously invest in AI technologies. This will, of course, be made possible by Huawei technologies,” adds Cho.
Traditionally, the automotive industry faces difficulties in communicating and forging meaningful relations with its consumers due to obsolete and inefficient operating processes. Consumers therefore lack the trust and confidence In the products and services sold by local car dealers.
With UCARS and Huawei’s technology, consumers need not disclose any personal contact with the platform’s built-in chat system, allowing for a seamless and secure way for consumers to reach out to dealers.
Moreover, when dealers list on UCARS, there is no need for consumers to worry about hidden fees and undisclosed package deals, as they are provided with the latest and most accurate information on every listing.
The way Cho sees it, a more robust architecture translates to enhanced user experience for both dealers and consumers. “We truly appreciate that Huawei has been supporting us throughout the integration process, and we look forward to more collaborative projects in the future,” he says.
