Carspring, the used car buying platform founded by Rocket Internet in 2015, based in London and Berlin, has picked up £5 million in Series B funding.
Backing the round are Rocket Internet itself, as well as Channel 4’s Commercial Growth Fund, which offers media in the form of TV advertising in return for equity, making it so that a portion of this round (£1.3m) is not actually cash. A number of other unnamed investors also participated.
Carspring is an online used car dealership which enables the car buying process entirely online. On the supply side it sources used cars from a network of used car dealers, while the demand side sees it put in place numerous features to make buying online both trustworthy and extra convenient.
This includes mechanical checks to ensure vehicles makes the Carspring grade, a 6 month warranty on cars bought, home delivery, and a 14 day money-back guarantee. A big part of the Carspring’s pitch to consumers is that its processes can be trusted, with no or little downside buying a car online rather than in person. In addition, the company provides financing to let buyers purchase a car in installments.
The importance of putting weight behind the Carspring brand would also explain why the company is investing heavily in ‘above the line’ advertising and taking media-for-equity investment from Channel 4.
Read more
