Online car sales platform Carwow is on track to reach a £100 million-a-year sales milestone this year despite fragile consumer confidence and the sluggish uptake of electric vehicles.
The digital marketplace connects buyers and sellers of new and used cars via a network of dealerships.
It charges car dealers a fee for each genuine buyer inquiry or successful lead they receive through the platform.
The company has grown rapidly in recent years, fuelled in part by its popular YouTube channel hosted by influencer Mat Watson, which has more than 10 million subscribers.
Carwow, which bought Auto Express magazine last year, pulled in 115 million unique visits to its website last year and had more than 1 billion YouTube views across its network, making it the most watched car channel in the world.
‘Some nine million people change their car every year,’ said chief executive John Veichmanis. ‘We see most of them.’
Sales driver: Mat Watson (left) promotes Carwow, led by John Veichmanis
Sales rose by 55 per cent to £85.1million in 2024, with more double-digit growth forecast this year, though operating losses increased to £16.5 million from £1.3 million, latest accounts show.
‘We could be profitable tomorrow if we didn’t invest in the business,’ Veichmanis said.
Carwow is backed by US buy-out group Bessemer, which put in another £40 million last year to fund technology investment.
Staff numbers grew to 509 from 338, but Veichmanis said the increase in employer national insurance in the last Budget ‘really hit the business’.
Chinese-owned car brands were doing ‘phenomenally well’ on the platform, Veichmanis added, especially best-seller Jaecoo. And there was still ‘huge’ demand for Land Rovers and Range Rovers despite the cyber attack on their parent company JLR, he said.
Electric vehicle sales have been disappointing, with zero-emission cars no longer exempt from vehicle tax.
But Veichmanis said he would not be surprised if the Government replaced road tax and fuel duty with a pay-per-mile road pricing scheme in November’s Budget that could bring in ‘significant revenues’ for the Treasury.
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