Motors has bought the Cazoo brand and plans to make it the first mobile digital used car marketplace, it was announced this morning.
The ad platform’s move, for an undisclosed sum, confirms reports earlier this month that the ad platform was close to a price cut deal for the collapsed used car operator.
Motors says it will invest in the Cazoo brand to attract more car buyers to its marketplace and will launch a new Cazoo app in the coming weeks, followed by a new website with more than a quarter of a million used car listings.
He says he wants Cazoo to give consumers a new approach to finding cars, based on his own more than 15 years of experience.
Web Motors, which has a network of sites including partners eBay and Gumtree, will continue as is.
Cazoo’s new app will boast an “innovative mobile-focused strategy to enhance the car search experience.”
Barry Judge, CEO of Motors, said: “Despite the challenges as a business, Cazoo has undoubtedly become a household name with car buyers.
“We have the expertise and resources to immediately establish the new Cazoo plant as a modern used car marketplace.
“We will build on the excitement and engagement the Cazoo brand has already created with customers to provide more sales inquiries to our dealer partners.”
He added: “This acquisition offers dealers an exciting opportunity to tap into the awareness and traffic of Cazoo within the Motors network.
“All business partners who are active on our Motors MultiSite packages will automatically benefit from free exposure on Cazoo.”
Motors has owned O3 Industries and Novum Capital since 2021, and Daniel Ozen, president of O3 Industries, said: “We know that today’s car buyers visit an average of 4.2 websites during their search journey.
Motors CEO Barry Judge says he has the expertise and stock to immediately turn the new Cazoo site into a modern used car marketplace
“With just one invoice, dealers can advertise to millions of car buyers in the market on Motors, eBay, Gumtree and now Cazoo, increasing their online visibility and generating leads.
“This acquisition underlines our ambition to be a key dealer partner and provide information 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: “The acquisition of the Cazoo brand was a strategic decision, albeit a challenging one, given the mixed sentiment in the motoring community about its past.
“But there’s no denying that Cazoo has high consumer awareness, which we believe is a stepping stone to more leads and sales for retailers.”
He told members of the group: ‘We are excited about this new chapter and look forward to you being part of this journey as Motors continues to evolve and grow.’
Last Friday, Cazoo Group issued a notice to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) saying that the board of directors had unanimously voted to dissolve the Cayman Islands-based parent company and appoint voluntary liquidators.
In March, Cazoo announced that it would stop selling used cars and become an online classifieds marketplace. Then in May it was announced that Cazoo Group would be delisted from the NYSE.
Administrators have been appointed to the failed online used car retailer, which became a marketplace on May 21 after failing to find new investment following a loss of £704m in 2022, 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 liquidation and liquidation.
You can watch our special documentary about the rise and fall of Cazoo below:
This story was originally published at 7:28 a.m. on June 28 and updated at 10:23 a.m. the same day with comments from Phil Hastings-Jones