A new company called Wecars was formed Wednesday to take over the operations of Bigmotor, a scandal-tainted Japanese used car dealer, trading house Itochu, one of the new company’s shareholders, said.
Itochu, subsidiary Itochu Enex and investment fund J-Will Partners jointly invested ยฅ40 billion in the new company.
Wecars “puts customers first by attaching the utmost importance to a solid governance system and compliance, with the aim of rebuilding the business and achieving growth in the future,” Itochu said in a statement.
“We will be able to earn customers’ trust by putting them first and growing as a company at the same time,” Wecars president and CEO Shinjiro Tanaka, a former Itochu executive, said at a news conference in Tokyo.
Wecar took over approximately 250 branches and approximately 4,200 employees from Bigmotor. The new company’s board of directors does not include any former members of Bigmotor’s board of directors.
The Itochu side will send about 50 employees to support Wecars’ growth. Itochu also wants to collaborate with Wecars in areas such as tire sales and car insurance.
Bigmotor had faced fines, including the withdrawal of the designation of its outlets as private car inspection centres, following a series of fraudulent business practices, such as false car insurance claims.
Itochu said in the statement that it “believes the establishment of Wecars will increase the transparency of used car trading and restore confidence in the industry.”
