Online car seller Cazoo is selling used car stock and will transition into the car market, it told investors last week.
In an “adoption of a marketplace model”, Cazoo aims to take on Auto Trader, Motors and AA Cars.
Cazoo will allow people to sell cars online, generate leads for dealers and connect motor dealers with motor sellers.
It is currently disposing of its stock of used cars, transporters and customer service centers through retail and wholesale channels.
Cazoo is transitioning to an online car marketplace in the latest round of restructuring for the financially hit e-commerce used car brand.
Cazoo downloads stock from used cars, transporters and customer service centers through retail and wholesale channels
With more than 3,500 cars listed on its e-commerce platform, around a tenth of which are electric vehicles, this could lead to an influx of used electric vehicles available at discounted prices.
The UK used car market grew by 5.1 per cent in 2023, thanks to revitalized supply, leveling off prices and a record year for electric vehicle (EV) sales.
Sales of electric vehicles almost doubled in 2023 (an increase of 90.9 percent) to 119,000 units, the SMMT said. This was a record level, as electric vehicles now account for 1.6 percent of the market share, up 0.9 percent from 2022.
The supply of used electric vehicles increased as more models entered the market and more drivers were able to purchase less expensive second- and third-hand battery cars.
Founded in 2019 by Zoopla and Love Film entrepreneur Alex Chesterman, Cazoo set out to disrupt the “awkward” used car trade but failed to achieve profitability.
Cazoo says the change in strategy will “leverage our key advantages: our brand, which is recognizable and trusted across the country, and our technology platform, which delivers a market-leading customer experience”.
Founded in 2019 by Zoopla and Love Film entrepreneur Alex Chesterman, Cazoo set out to disrupt the “awkward” used car trade with a Carvana-based business model in the US. Cars can be purchased entirely online. online and delivered to your door.
Chesterman will leave the business in 2023. The most recent CEO, Paul Whitehead, will step down at the end of the month but will remain in an advisory role until May to oversee this transition.
In its statement to shareholders, Cazoo said it will “transition to a dedicated automotive market.”
‘This will build on our key advantages – our brand, which is recognizable and trusted across the country, and our technology platform, which provides a market-leading customer experience and which will be based on demand from UK customers and distributors. to carry out online transactions.
‘Adopting a marketplace model leverages Cazoo’s market-leading e-commerce platform and investment of over £100 million in the Cazoo brand.
‘The brand is now one of the UK’s top five car brands and has enabled Cazoo to sell nearly 160,000 fully online retail cars since 2019.
“The board believes that Cazoo will provide new opportunities for dealers in the highly fragmented used car market, providing British car dealers with an online platform to offer their vehicles to the million consumers who on average visit the Cazoo website every month”.
The shift in strategy to take on some of the UK’s biggest online car dealers comes after Cazoo warned investors in December that it had “limited liquidity”.
Job losses have been announced, but the figures have not yet been confirmed.
