Daimler invests in Volkswagen’s used car platform

13 September 2018

Daimler is buying a 20% stake in Volkswagen’s (VW) used car platform Heycar. The purchase was announced on Thursday 13 September for an undisclosed fee.

VW launched the platform in 2017, with aim of toppling some of the big players in the German used car market.

Dr. Christian Dahlheim, Chief Sales Officer of VW Financial Services AG, explains: ′With HeyCar, we will not only take away market shares from the current top dogs in the market, mobile.de and Autoscout.24.de, we also have the aspiration of positioning ourselves in the medium to long term as the Number One platform for premium pre-owned cars in Germany.’

Heycar aims to have a more rigorous vetting process than its competitors and to provide a unique level of quality and reliability in its services.

Anthony Bandmann, Chairman of the Management Board of VW Leasing GmbH said: ′HeyCar operates agilely and independently of the Group – it’s a genuine and dynamic start-up. Already by the end of 2017, HeyCar will be working with over 100 affiliated dealers and list more than 70,000 vehicles. By the middle of 2018, HeyCar will then be active throughout the whole of Germany.’

PSA Group is also hopping on the trend of carmakers developing used car sales, with a reinvigorated effort to raise sales and profits in its second-hand vehicle division. The new push is part of PSA’s strategic ′Push to Pass’ plan for 2021. The company is targeting 600,000 sales in 2018 whereas the group previously set a long-term target for sales of 800,000 by 2021.

Digital used car services are on the rise in Europe; last year Catalan dealer group Quadis launched Webycar, an online platform for used cars, in Spain.

Josep Guasch, CEO of Webycar, said: ′We digitised the process and improved the customer experience, all with the added safety of working under the seal of Quadis, a company with more than 77 years of history in the automotive market.’