Full speed ahead: How Vin’s Holdings is hitting the pedal to accelerate growth

For automotive group Vin’s Holdings, being the first business to list on the Singapore Exchange this year is a stepping stone to greater things. “After we achieved robust growth from 2021 to 2023, we discussed how to continue it, and decided that having this public platform will boost our visibility and fuel further growth,” says chief executive officer Galvin Khong. Notably, Vin’s Holdings went from generating S$75m in revenue in 2021 to just over S$106m in revenue in 2023. 

Since Khong’s father founded the firm in Singapore in 1987 as a motor vehicle workshop, it has diversified into a one-stop automotive solutions provider. It not only sells cars but also offers after-sales servicing and maintenance, and even insurance claims processing and replacement car loans in case of accidents. Now, Khong aims to take it even further. 

“Preparing for the initial public offering (IPO) helped us to formalise our internal control and other policies. We’re also going to use part of the IPO proceeds to expand our footprint. We’re looking to open a new showroom in the first half of 2025, and have more in the next few years to broaden our reach. After that, we may go into other countries that practice right-hand driving,” he shares. 

In after-sales, the firm is examining how to improve its capabilities, for example by setting up more physical locations for its services. It will also upgrade its tech stacks, including by buying more and better tools for fixing vehicle breakdowns, accident repairs and other sophisticated processes. These will be financed by the IPO funds too. 

Moreover, as the world shifts towards electric and other more sustainable vehicles—partly to combat climate change—Vin’s plans to be at the forefront of the transition. Khong notes that government policies will drive not only more electric vehicles on roads in the future, but other eco-friendlier alternatives to petrol cars. 

“For now, Vin’s is focusing on trading more pre-owned electric vehicles. At the same time, we are analysing the electric vehicles from China and their manufacturers, to weigh if any of them are suitable, strategic partners that we can collaborate with. We want to make sure that we’re still relevant and thrive in a more electrified future.”

Shifting gears with digitalisation 

With the business’s longevity in mind, Khong is leading a charge in digitalisation too. When he came on board in 2014, it was relying heavily on paperwork. He spearheaded a move towards digital systems – gradually at first, from paper to Excel sheets, to ease the change for its many long-time staff, and then to more advanced enterprise resource planning and other systems. 

“We’re currently developing our own tech system because we did a review last year and found that we now have multiple systems all over the place. We’re building and customising our own system, so that we can centralise all of the data that we have, and collect more. This will enable us to make better decisions, especially once we bring in artificial intelligence.”

He outlines Vin’s comprehensive vision to embed digitalisation: in the back-end, to streamline and optimise its operations to save time, effort and costs and gear up support and services for clients; and, on the customer-facing side, to gather more data through apps to generate useful and actionable insights and unlock new opportunities. 

Predictive pricing is one potential outcome. “Right now, it’s quite tough to determine the best selling price for used cars. With enough data, we could predict, if we price a car in a particular price range, what would be the expected turnaround. That’s just one way we could become more efficient and increase our sales.”

Each person drives differently, Khong adds. With an app for our customers and their consent, the firm could make suggestions based on their driving patterns. It could notify them when they should come in for vehicle servicing. If the in-house digital system finds that a client likes to change cars every two to three years, it could alert employees to reach out ahead of time. 

“At the end of the day, it’s all about how we can serve the customer,” he says. “We want to ensure that we are giving each and every one of our clients a very tailored and personalised experience with us. We want to equip our staff with the tools and knowledge that they need to deliver consistently for the customer.”

An inter-generational dream team 

While Khong’s plans are ambitious and wide-ranging, he is ready to put in the work to achieve them – a trait he learned from his father, the firm’s executive director and chairman. “When I was growing up, I watched him build this company day after day. Even now, he’s in the office seven days a week. I lose to him because I don’t come in on Sundays,” Khong says with a laugh.

Before the younger Khong joined the family business, he was working for Toyota in Japan after attaining a master’s degree in engineering in the country. “My dad called me in late 2013 and asked me to come back. At the time, I thought, I’m Singaporean. My family and friends are in Singapore. it felt right to return and do this. It ticked all the boxes for me.”

From his time in Japan, he has introduced two guiding principles for staff. One is omotenashi, which means hospitality. The Japanese people’s world-renowned reputation for hospitality and customer service is a model for the company, with Vin’s already boasting glowing reviews from the vast majority of its clients. 

The other principle is kaizen, the Japanese philosophy of continually making improvements, even if they are small, incremental ones. This underpins both Khong’s larger roadmap for Vin’s, and his ask of himself and individual employees: striving to do better, and listening carefully to feedback, including from clients, to consider what more they can do.

With his ideas balanced by his father’s nearly four decades-long experience in the industry, he believes they make a strong pair in the business. “We’re a good hybrid between the traditional and modern. I bring some fresh perspectives to the table, and he has gone through just about everything and has taught me so much because of this.”

Their goal is to transform Vin’s into a tech-integrated, one-stop automotive power player. “We want to be a household name in Singapore, the company people think of when they think of cars and mobility. If we get to that stage, we want to make it big overseas and fly the Singapore flag high. That’s our long-term dream. That’s what will make us very proud.”     

About Vin’s Holdings: 

Vin’s Holdings Ltd is a leading integrated automotive solutions provider in Singapore. With a commitment to excellence and innovation, the Group offers a comprehensive range of services that cater to the diverse needs of individuals and businesses in the automotive industry. 

Vin’s Holdings is dedicated to delivering high-quality automotive solutions through its expertise, strategic partnerships, and customer-centric approach. With convenient locations across Singapore, Vin’s Holdings is a preferred one-stop provider for: 

• Automobile Sales and Related Services – The sale of new, pre-owned, and scrap cars, floor stock financing, as well as referral fees from insurance agencies.
• Automobile After-Sales Services – Motor vehicle maintenance and repair services, accident repairs and insurance claims, and sale of salvaged spare parts from wrecked vehicles.
• Automobile Financing and Related Services – In-house motor vehicle financing and arranging financing from financial institutions.
• Automobile Rental and Leasing Services – Short-term rentals and long-term leasing. 

For more information, visit https://vinsautogroup.com.sg/

About kopi-C: the Company brew

kopi-C is a regular column by SGX Research in collaboration with Beansprout that features C-level executives of leading companies listed on SGX. These interviews are profiles of senior management aimed at helping investors better understand the individuals who run these corporations.