Melbourne — It’s May 14, 2026, 07:07 AEST.
CAR Group Limited reported that First Sentier Group Limited, along with related entities connected to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, are no longer substantial shareholders in the online vehicle marketplace operator. The update injects another twist into what’s already been an active week for the company’s share register. Details on the number of shares offloaded or the value of the transaction weren’t included in the disclosure.
The timing’s key here: MUFG’s initial substantial-holder filing dropped late on May 12, right after First Sentier disclosed holding 19.55 million CAR shares—5.16% of voting power—in its own filing just days earlier. The real story is the shift in voting power, not an operational update.
Australia flags any entity holding at least 5% of a company’s voting shares as a substantial shareholder — a level that signals influence in shareholder decisions. Stakes held via custodians, funds, or linked entities all count toward that 5% mark.
The ASX pushed out CAR’s “Ceasing to be a substantial holder” disclosure to its announcements feed at 4:18 p.m. AEST on May 13. CAR ended the session at A$26.91, a 3.42% gain, with roughly 3.46 million shares changing hands, according to Market Index figures. Australian Securities Exchange
MUFG disclosed in its Form 603 that it crossed the substantial holder threshold on May 7, recognizing the position by May 11. According to the filing, the group holds 5.14% of ordinary-share voting power, achieved via “relevant interests”—a Corporations Act category that can cover more than just direct share ownership.
MUFG’s filing cited relevant holdings via First Sentier, Morgan Stanley, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, and Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management. That setup sheds light on the clutter in CAR’s register: a single economic group might end up reporting stakes through multiple legal entities.
CAR made its name in Australia through carsales, but these days it’s running marketplaces around the world. There’s Encar in South Korea, Trader Interactive across the U.S., and chileautos serving Chile. In Brazil, CAR holds the majority stake in webmotors.
The new shareholder filings leave CAR’s February operating case untouched. For the first half of FY26, the company posted A$626 million in revenue, A$324 million reported EBITDA, and net profit after tax at A$143 million. (EBITDA strips out interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation—a standard measure of operating earnings.) Back in February, Chief Executive William Elliott pointed to “strong consumer engagement across carsales” in the Australian automotive market, adding that site traffic and enquiry levels “remain strong” even with cost-of-living and interest-rate pressures in play.
CAR stuck to its full-year pro forma revenue growth guidance, calling for a 12% to 14% increase in constant currency. That measure—stripping out currency volatility—matters for a business pulling in revenue from Australia, the Americas, and Asia.
The comparison only goes so far, but it matters. Investors frequently stack CAR up against fellow ASX online classifieds like REA Group, Seek, and Domain. Still, demand cycles and pricing headwinds look different across property, jobs, and cars.
Still, the filing doesn’t offer much to work with. The public summary skips details like the number of shares sold or the price, so it’s tough to read this as a clear indicator of what investors are actually doing; it could point to a partial sale, a tweak in vote counting, or just some adjustment in how the register is managed.
Rates remain a risk lurking in the background. On May 5, the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted its cash-rate target by 25 basis points to 4.35%. Over at Kalshi, their June RBA market showed 78% odds the rate would stay flat, with just 22% pricing in a 1-to-25-basis-point move. Polymarket’s Australia page, looking to August, had 64% odds on no change. For car buyers and dealers, financing costs stay firmly on the radar.
There’s no new operating update in the shareholder filing, at least for the moment. Investors are working with the existing register story, and CAR’s last company benchmark remains February’s outlook.
