Cazoo is expanding into Europe with the purchase of German consumer car subscription service Cluno.
The deal – for an undisclosed sum – will enable Cazoo to launch its full proposition in the country and across Europe, giving customers the option of purchasing, financing or subscribing to thousands of cars on its platform.
The news comes on the heels of reports that Cazoo founder Alex Chesterman offloaded £100m of shares in his company last autumn.
The Sunday Times said it was part of a £180m sale by investors which was not announced at the time, with a source telling the newspaper that Chesterman had sold them to ‘make room for new later-stage investors’.
Cazoo bought UK-based car subscription service Drover last December as well and said it plans to launch its UK subscription service over the next few months.
Cluno was founded in 2017 and has a Munich-based team of more than 100 employees.
It offers a choice of up to 100 makes and models, with a single monthly subscription fee that includes the car, maintenance, service, warranty, tax and insurance.
Cazoo, which was launched as an online vehicle seller just over a year ago, said the Cluno deal cemented its position as the leading player in the fast-growing Cars-as-a-Service (CaaS) market in Europe, which has thousands of active subscribers in the UK, Germany and France.
Nico Polleti, founder and chief executive of Cluno, said: ‘I am very proud of what we have created at Cluno in terms of both the customer experience and the team.
‘The vision and strategy that Alex and his team have for developing the Cazoo brand and platform is totally aligned with ours.
‘We are looking forward to joining forces and accelerating the digital transformation of the car-buying experience across Europe.’
Chesterman commented: ‘Cluno has built a market-leading offering in the car subscription market in Germany with thousands of loyal customers and we are delighted to welcome Nico and his team to the Cazoo family.
‘We will be launching the full Cazoo proposition in Europe later this year from our new European headquarters in Munich, and we look forward to offering customers the option of purchasing, financing or subscribing to thousands of Cazoo cars.’
