Carwow

History

Carwow has transformed the way those looking to buy a vehicle can do so – by reversing the process to remove the need for awkward price negotiations with sellers. Instead, buyers choose the car they’re looking for, along with any set specifications or features, and receive offers directly from franchised car dealers.

Carwow started life as Carbuzz, a similar reverse tendering concept website founded by James Hind in 2010. It originated as an information resource, offering expert car reviews, user reviews, videos and photographs to help those looking to buy a new car to find the right model for them. Some three years later, it rebranded and began to work as a car purchase platform, with over £1.3m raised from venture capital funding. Seeing almost immediate success as carwow, another £4.6m of capital was raised to allow for expanding the team and to roll out more public marketing campaigns.

Since then, carwow has gone on to grow and continues to enjoy a sterling reputation in both the consumer and industry motor markets. A further £12.5m has been raised in Series B funding and a prominent £6m TV campaign was launched featuring a voice-over by Harry Potter actor Michael Gambon.

In 2016, carwow surpassed 1 million users and is continuing to grow its customer base on a daily basis.

Key selling points:

• A non-traditional purchase platform that gives power to the consumer
• Vetted and verified sale franchised dealers to purchase from
• Easy comparison platform for transparent pricing and informed purchase decisions
• Full manufacturer warranties on all vehicle purchases
• Full after-sales support.