CarFix has issued the Vehicle Lifecycle Blockchain (VLB) token,. Through this the company aims to reshape the $1.8 trillion vehicle lifecycle industry by integrating blockchain technology.
CarFix announced its initial coin offering for the VLB token on November 27, 2017. This move follows other industries who have introduced alternative ways to raise funding, eschewing other models like seeking venture capital. To discover more Digital Journal spoke with one of the co-founders of CarFix, Vladimir Lupenko.
Digital Journal: Thanks for the interview. What are the advantages of blockchain technology?
Vladimir Lupenko: Putting the entire history of a vehicle from the moment it comes off the factory floor to the moment it is recycled in the junkyard on a blockchain creates a wide gamut of advantages for car owners and automotive industry players.
For example, to name a few it increases resale value of vehicles; it allows auto manufacturers to increase efficiency of warranty services and reduce warranty costs; it allows insurers to save on claim management costs; it creates transparency in collision repair between insurers and repair shops. It also creates transparency in car ownership costs and leverages transparency to reduce maintenance costs for fleet owners.
DJ: What services does CarFix provide?
Lupenko: CarFix is a comprehensive ecosystem that includes repair shops, spare parts distributors, fleet managers, car manufacturers, dealers. A consumer or a fleet owner can use their respective applications to obtain transparent and most cost efficient repair and maintenance services. Manufacturers can monitor the dealers’ maintenance pricing policies and ensure their adherence to manufacturer’s suggested retail prices. Repair shops and dealers receive pre-paid customer flow that generate spare part order flow for spare part distributors.
DJ: What is the technology behind the service?
Lupenko:The CarFix ecosystem is build on a proprietary software that provides interfaces for the ecosystem participants to transact with one another seamlessly. This application layer software will be overlaid on top of the Vehicle Lifecycle Blockchain that we are creating and that will be financed by the proceeds from the ICO.
DJ: How long did the platform take to develop?
Lupenko:In this time period we have served over 300,000 customers.
DJ: Please explain about the Vehicle Lifecycle Blockchain (VLB) token. How does it differ to other tokens?
Lupenko:VLB Tokens are utility tokens that will be used by the ecosystem participants to record transactions on the blockchain and gain access to the encrypted information stored on the blockchain. VLB Tokens’ value is underpinned by the quantifiable value of benefits outlined in question a). For example, car manufacturers can save up to 30% of their warranty costs through increased warranty service efficiency. That is over $120 per car! Insurers can save over $100 per client on claim management, which is the single biggest operating cost line item.
Repair shops and dealers can save around $50 on customer acquisition costs. These savings represent VLB Token appreciation potential from the ICO price of $0.50 per VLB Token.
DJ: How have you partnered with different service providers?
Lupenko:We have a business development team led by the former business development director of Uber that focuses on expanding the CarFix ecosystem.
DJ: What has been the response from consumers?
Lupenko:300,000 customers served, plus 500 repair shops, 10 major spare parts distributors, fleet managers with over 2 million cars.
DJ: What other types of technology interest you?
Lupenko:We are wholeheartedly focused on launching Vehicle Lifecycle Blockchain and making CarFix the first successful use case, which will generate demand for VLB Tokens on day 1 of blockchain deployment.
