AURES Holdings is to launch Driverama which is aiming to become the first ever truly borderless pan-European online used car retailer, bringing to market a ‘bricks and clicks’ operating model that delivers the widest choice of vehicles, most sophisticated car buying and selling technology and best value for customers across the continent.
As part of AURES Holdings, the largest independent used car retailer in Europe with more than EUR700 million in revenue, EUR44 million EBITDA and over 2.5 million customers served, Driverama will initially launch in Germany, with over 5,000 of its own fully inspected cars, before rolling the concept out to 11 countries by 2025.
AURES has invested EUR75 million in building a pioneering tech platform, of which EUR32.5m alone has been invested since 2017 to accelerate the Group’s capabilities, giving Driverama a key advantage in the cEUR600 billion EU used car market. A further EUR100 million of investment is planned over the next year to aggressively roll out the concept, with up to EUR400 million in follow-on investment planned to catapult Driverama into the No1 European online used car retailer spot by 2025.
Driverama is set to rapidly expand, bringing a better way of car buying and selling to millions of people, through AURES’ proven physical automotive infrastructure, unique data science capabilities and well-invested proprietary technology. Unlike other digital-first used car retailers, from day one Driverama will be able to leverage AURES’ network of 45 sites and preparation centres across Europe, alongside its invaluable experience for almost 30 years selling more than 80,000 of the most desirable used cars in the market annually, giving it an immediate head start over competitors.
In the next 24 months, as part of its unique borderless pan-European operating model, Driverama customers will be able to buy or sell cars anywhere in Europe – always at the best possible price – through live data and pricing differences from country to country. For the first time, a customer, say, in Munich can buy a car located in Amsterdam and have it delivered to them in Germany, backed by a no-quibble 14-day money back guarantee.
The Company’s innovative automated internet data mining functionality is able to identify the fastest-selling used cars with the highest return on investment, all in a matter of minutes, enabling the Group to buy and sell vehicles with the most attractive profit margins. Its tech platform also features a real-time AI pricing engine that can predict in minutes whether a particular make and model of vehicle will be more or less likely to sell with high margin financing products attached, how quickly it will sell and at the best price in which country.
Driverama brings together the heavyweight automotive experience and proven track record of Anthony Denny, founder of AAA Auto, the physical site footprint of AURES and the financial backing of leading Central European private equity fund Abris Capital, along with a peerless, proven tech team and the hunger, drive and challenger mentality of a start-up – a truly compelling combination.
Stanislav Galik, Co-CEO, Driverama, says: “We are tremendously excited about the launch of Driverama, the culmination of millions of Euros of investment, innovation, testing and constant refinement to ensure we have a laser-focus on delivering a truly seamless end-to-end customer experience for those selling or buying a used car in Europe. We are confident that we have the best tech capabilities and our ambition is to become the only truly pan-European online used car retailer by 2025.”
Tony Denny, Founder of AURES Holdings, says: “Driverama isn’t starting from a blank page, it is part of AURES Holdings, the largest independent used car retailer in Europe. Unlike other new online-first entrants, the Driverama team have real life experience of selling used cars profitably and already have the physical infrastructure in place to deliver a winning, genuinely omni-channel proposition.
“Over the next three-four years, we are likely to see several independent online used car trading platforms seeking to dominate the European market, all using advanced customer service practices, providing seamless trading experiences, similar software and tech platforms – separated only by geographical differences.
“But the intense battle for market share will be won on the back of consistent and quality real life automotive processes that are scalable. Who will offer the highest price to the customer for their car and pay the quickest? Who will deliver the high-quality car as described and with the best guarantees, quickly to the customer’s home? Having served 2.5m customers, AURES certainly does understand the best scalable automotive practices and we are confident that this experience and insight will ultimately enable Driverama to achieve market share dominance across Europe.
“Driverama is building on AURES’ experience to provide the customer a new and superior buying and selling experience in what is a highly fragmented market. It is a truly phenomenal pan-European proposition with extraordinarily talented people.”
Wojciech Lukawski, Partner, Abris Capital Partners, says: “As a long-term investor in AURES, we are very pleased to be backing Driverama, which blends the existing physical footprint and digital knowhow of one of Europe’s largest used car retailers with a high-quality team of experienced motor retail operators, powered by an exciting tech platform – a winning combination. This investment aligns well with our strategy of backing differentiated companies with compelling, scalable growth prospects operating in industries with powerful structural drivers. We look forward to working with Driverama as it accelerates its customer offering across Europe.”
