Melbourne, May 14, 2026, 07:07 AEST
CAR Group Limited disclosed that First Sentier Group Limited and a network of related investment entities tied to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group had ceased to be substantial holders in the online vehicle marketplace operator, adding a fresh turn to a busy week on its share register. The filing summary did not specify the exact number of shares sold or the consideration.
The timing matters because the notice followed a separate MUFG initial substantial-holder filing lodged late on May 12, and came only days after First Sentier reported 19.55 million CAR shares, or 5.16% voting power, in its own notice. That puts the focus on voting power, not a new operating update.
In Australia, a substantial shareholder generally means an entity with 5% or more of a company’s voting shares. That threshold is watched because it shows who may carry weight in shareholder votes, even where holdings sit through custodians, funds or related entities.
ASX’s announcements feed listed CAR’s “Ceasing to be a substantial holder” notice at 4:18 p.m. AEST on May 13. CAR shares closed that day at A$26.91, up 3.42%, on volume of about 3.46 million shares, Market Index data showed. Australian Securities Exchange
MUFG’s Form 603 said it became a substantial holder on May 7 and became aware of that status on May 11. The filing put its ordinary-share voting power at 5.14%, built through “relevant interests” — a legal term for shares or voting power counted under the Corporations Act, not always a simple direct holding.
The MUFG filing described relevant interests through First Sentier, Morgan Stanley, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, and Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management. That structure helps explain why CAR’s register can look noisy: one economic group may have reporting duties across several legal channels.
CAR is best known in Australia for carsales, but the company is now a global vehicle-marketplace business. It operates Encar in South Korea, Trader Interactive in the United States and chileautos in Chile, and is the majority shareholder of Brazil’s webmotors.
The shareholder filings do not change the operating case CAR laid out in February. For the first half of FY26, the company reported revenue of A$626 million, reported EBITDA of A$324 million and reported net profit after tax of A$143 million; EBITDA means earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, a common measure of operating earnings. Chief Executive William Elliott said then that the Australian automotive market had “strong consumer engagement across carsales” and that traffic and enquiry levels “remain strong” despite cost-of-living and interest-rate pressure.
CAR also reaffirmed full-year pro forma revenue growth of 12% to 14% in constant currency. Constant currency strips out exchange-rate swings, a useful measure for a company earning revenue across Australia, the Americas and Asia.
The competitive read is limited but relevant. Investors often compare CAR with other ASX online-classified names such as REA Group, Seek and Domain, though property, jobs and vehicles face different demand cycles and pricing pressures.
But the filing leaves a thin read-through. Because the public summary did not give exact shares sold or consideration, it is hard to treat the notice as a clean signal of investor intent; it may reflect a sell-down, a change in how voting power is counted, or some mix of register mechanics.
Rates are another risk sitting behind the story. The Reserve Bank of Australia raised the cash-rate target by 25 basis points, or a quarter point, to 4.35% on May 5; Kalshi’s June RBA market showed 78% odds of no change and 22% for a 1-to-25-basis-point hike, while Polymarket’s Australia page put the August no-change outcome at 64%. That keeps financing costs in view for car buyers and dealers.
For now, no fresh operating update has accompanied the shareholder filing. The market is left with a register story — and with CAR’s February outlook still the last company benchmark.
