The Canadian-based business-to-business (B2B) automotive trading platform Trade X Group of Companies is ready to grow its platform following its announcement last month that the company secured tens of millions in new equity financing.
The financing, $44 million CAD (about $35 million U.S.) from a Toronto-based holding company Aimia Inc., is an important part of the company's growth and the ambitious plans for its global platform, Trade X Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Luciano Butera said during a recent interview.
"It's a monumental undertaking," Butera said during a video interview with Canadian Auto Dealer editor Todd Phillips, published on Aug. 11. "I mean, the complexity of the trade routes and understanding the various governments and regulations, and understanding how the platform can service those different trade routes and dealers and buyers on both ends of the transaction is incredibly complex."
The money from Aimia, announced in a July 27 Trade X news release, will be used to strategically acquire and expand the company's cross-border B2B platform that facilitates pre-owned vehicle trading to car dealers, fleet, rental and mobility solution providers. The platform also provides services to importers and exporters across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
"The overriding global need for a unified automotive trading platform has never been greater", Trade X CEO Ryan Davidson said in the July news release. "With this additional funding, we will expand our reach across multiple continents, connecting buyers and sellers beyond their borders to accelerate inventory turnover and boost profits substantially."
Which means more buyers and sellers in the industry are about to find out who and what Trade X, headquartered in Missassauga, Ontario, is, Butera said during his Canadian Auto Dealer interview.
"What Trade X is is really an online platform which allows dealers, importers, fleet companies, mobility providers to post vehicles for sale or to source vehicles to buy," he said. "Not just within their own market but within markets across the world."
Securing a significant amount of funding is an important part of the company's ambitious plans to grow its global platform.
The Aimia investment will help Trade X improve and expand its infrastructure and technology while also allowing the company to "hyperscale" into creative and strategic acquisition in various markets. That strategy would allow Trade X to accomplish its goal of growing organically in the various markets, Butera said.
That is especially true in the present pandemic-challenged marketplace.
"We're not going to be everything to everyone," Butera said. "I think it's important that we actually leverage the relationships that we can acquire in different markets to not only bring the hyperscale part of it but also to bring that trust piece. Because people in various markets do like dealing with people they've dealt with and who they trust."