A new online marketplace for used cars has launched in the UK.
heycar.co.uk has launched with a mission to bring greater trust and transparency to one of the UK economy’s largest retail sectors. The brand aims to do this by creating a superior user experience for consumers and dealers launching with an inventory of over 100,000 listed vehicles from over 50 automotive brands at 1,400 dealerships.
According to the business, the UK used car industry has long suffered from strong consumer scepticism. heycar aims to overcome this scepticism and make its mark on this sector through innovation and fresh thinking. The marketplace will allow users to search for and find their used car, complete with a finance quote, in a seamless online journey.
CEO Mat Moakes commented: “The UK used car industry is worth £50bn, yet it works inefficiently for consumers and dealers. Buying a used car can be like a lottery, you don’t know what you’ll get. Dealers are burdened with rising fees for listing used cars online, which squeezes their margins without a guarantee of leads or sales being generated.
“We’ll offer a simpler, more effective solution for both used car buyers and dealers. Our site will be ad-free, improving transparency and consumer trust. heycar won’t charge dealers a listing fee, encouraging them to display all of their best quality stock. After the launch phase we will charge on a lead-generation basis to guarantee a win-win situation for our dealer partners.”
heycar launching in the UK market follows the brand’s foundation in Germany. Since launching in Berlin in October 2017, heycar has built up an inventory of around 400,000 quality used cars from over 4,000 dealerships in Germany, making it one of the top players in the German market. heycar.co.uk will look to build on this success in the brand’s second European market.
heycar is owned by Mobility Trader Holding GmbH, whose shareholders are Volkswagen Financial Services and Daimler Mobility. The set-up has been supported by BCG Digital Ventures (BCGDV).