Meet the People Behind OneShift&Carousell Autos

When I joined OneShift, I literally only thought it was a team of no more than a handful of people. I was gravely mistaken when I was introduced to the larger ecosystem of both OneShift and its parent company, Carousell Autos. It’s a mighty force working in the automotive side of things, which accounts for a massive ~33% of Carousell’s revenue. It’s definitely one of the most dynamic and fast-growing verticals of the Singapore born-and-bred unicorn.

Since most of our readers do not get a chance to see or meet the team, we thought of doing a feature on them to put faces behind our giant brand names. It’s no coincidence that they drive really interesting cars, too.

Of the group of seven, some of them were already friends from the same car groups prior to working together. But their common work in Carousell Autos brought them all together, as did their true passion for cars. “We are true blue Singaporean car enthusiasts”, said Bernard Lim, the unofficial leader of the group. “What binds us together is the love of cars, particularly performance ones.”

It’s clear to see that this is a passionate bunch. From JDMs to performance continental cars, to classics and even to motorbikes, there is a myriad of interests but all at the finest of their respective class. Bernard adds: “I think one must have some love of vehicles to work in Carousell Autos. Because we pride ourselves as being “user-centric”, it’s important to know the ‘highs and lows’ a vehicle owner in Singapore goes through, in order for us to both celebrate the wins in their milestones, and also to support their downs and solve their problems.”

They too have supported each other in their car ownership journeys. They share knowledge and lobangs, especially good deals found on Carousell and can relate to anything from purchase, sale and upkeep, to maintenance and modifications. They’ve even used some elbow grease to work on each other’s cars, such as grooming and simple modifications.

One of their most memorable things done together was to attend the Tokyo Auto Salon in early 2020, right before Covid-19 hit. During that trip, they also got hold of some legendary classic JDMs and toured the Gunma region, including doing both uphill and downhill climbs of the famous Mount Haruna.

With Carousell being one of the most recognised and celebrated success stories of Singapore’s start-up scene, the group is also very excited to be supporting one of the most important verticals of the company. “I’m very proud to be a cog in the wheels of a modern Singapore success story like Carousell. The platform has touched the lives of millions of users, including myself prior to joining, and I’m confident that it will continue to impact our society by helping people live sustainably by both reducing waste and also attaining financial freedom by building their own businesses,” Bernard said.

One of the budding growth areas for the company is OneShift, which recently signed a content partnership with Horizon Drivers’ Club (HDC), an automotive media content creator and community that the group followed closely even before the announcement. Bernard added: “I’m very glad to have HDC supporting OneShift in developing more content that can engage our automotive audience, be it showcasing the newest and greatest rides, industry updates, lifestyle news and tips to help make vehicle ownership simple, fun and rewarding.”

In the following weeks, we will be meeting each member of the group to find out more about them as well as their beloved rides. Stay tuned!

Credits: Text by James Wong; Photos by Horizon Drivers' Club