Motors has bought the Cazoo brand and plans to turn it into a mobile-first used car digital marketplace, it was announced this morning.
The move by the advertising platform, for an undisclosed sum, confirms reports earlier this month that the advertising platform was closing in on a cut-price deal for the collapsed used car operator.
Motors says it’ll invest in the Cazoo brand to attract more car buyers to its marketplaces, and that over the coming weeks it’ll launch a new Cazoo app then a new website with more than a quarter of a million used car listings.
It says it wants Cazoo to give consumers a fresh approach to searching for cars, building on its own 15-plus years of experience.
The Motors website, which has a network of sites including partners eBay and Gumtree, will continue as it is.
The new Cazoo app will boast an ‘innovative, mobile-first strategy to enhance the car search experience’.
Barry Judge, chief executive of Motors, said: ‘Despite its challenges as a business, Cazoo has undoubtedly become a household name with car buyers.
‘We have the expertise and inventory to immediately establish the new Cazoo site as a modern marketplace for used cars.
‘We will build on the excitement and engagement that the Cazoo brand has already created with consumers to deliver more sales inquiries for our dealer partners.’
He added: ‘This acquisition offers an exciting opportunity for dealers to tap into Cazoo’s awareness and traffic as part of the Motors network.
‘All dealer partners that are live on our Motors MultiSite packages will automatically benefit from exposure on Cazoo, free of charge.’
Motors has been owned by O3 Industries and Novum Capital since 2021, and Daniel Ozen, president of O3 Industries, said: ‘We know that today’s car buyer visits on average 4.2 websites during their search journey.
Motors CEO Barry Judge says it has the expertise and inventory to immediately make the new Cazoo site a modern marketplace for used cars
‘With just one invoice, dealers can advertise to millions of in-market car buyers on Motors, eBay, Gumtree and now Cazoo, scaling their online visibility and lead-generation muscle.
‘This acquisition underlines our ambition to be a key partner to dealers, providing exposure to car buyers across the internet.’
In a post on the Car Sales/Dealer Group Facebook page, Motors chief operating officer Phill Hastings-Jones said: ‘Acquiring the Cazoo brand was a strategic decision, albeit a challenging one, given the mixed sentiments within the automotive community about its past.
‘But there is no denying that Cazoo has a high consumer awareness, which we believe provides a stepping stone to driving more leads and sales for dealers.’
He told members of the group: ‘We are excited about this new chapter and look forward to having you as part of the journey as Motors continues to evolve and grow.’
Last Friday, Cazoo Group issued a notice to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to say the board had voted unanimously to wind up the Cayman Island-based parent-company and appoint voluntary liquidators.
In March, Cazoo said that it was halting used car sales and would become an online advertising marketplace. Then in May it was announced that Cazoo Group was to be delisted on the NYSE.
Administrators were appointed to the failed online used car dealer-turned-marketplace on May 21 after it failed to find fresh investment following a loss of £704m in 2022, which was on top of its £544m deficit in 2021.
An extraordinary general meeting will be held on Tuesday (July 2) for Cazoo Group shareholders to approve its voluntary winding-up and liquidation.
You can watch our special documentary about Cazoo’s rise and fall below:
This story was originally published at 7.28am on June 28 and updated at 10.23am the same day with Phill Hastings-Jones’s comments