Carwow Group raises £41m in funding round

The Carwow Group has raised £41m in a new funding round to accelerate its growth across the UK, Germany and Spain.

Carwow’s growth plans include further scaling of the SMC service in the UK to attract more customers and source more cars for dealers. It aims to introduce the SMC service to its German operation in 2025.

John Veichmanis, CEO of the Carwow Group, said: “This is yet another milestone moment for Carwow.

“Over the course of the last three years, we’ve worked tirelessly to develop our car-changing proposition in the UK, giving consumers access to thousands of partners that can help them buy a new car and sell their old one.

“Our customers love the breadth of choice and convenience of managing every step of their car changing journey online and partners rely on us to help drive sales of new cars and source stock.”

Carwow will focus on enhancing payment processes and developing its transport offering. It will expand its product and engineering teams over the next few months.

The funding round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Bessemer has a diverse range of companies in its investment portfolio, including tech powerhouses, LinkedIn and Shopify.

Alex Ferrara, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, said: “I’ve been a fan of Carwow’s videos and content for years and like millions of others, I love their information-rich, impartial car reviews and drag races that make for fun and irreverent entertainment.

“Carwow’s consumer proposition is just as exciting, which is helping make car changing simpler for consumers across Europe – and with over nine million car changes a year alone in the UK, we’re looking forward to supporting the management team in growing the business and delivering on its true potential.

“Carwow’s focus on using its content expertise and footprint to drive its commerce services through dealer partnerships makes it unique and compelling in the category.”

Existing investors including Accel, Balderton, Episode 1 and Vitruvian contributed to the latest investment round.

The latest investment was advised by Arma Partners.