Autoquake set to shake up used car industry

Autoquake, the UK’s leading online used car retailer, today announced the closure of a £6 million second round of venture capital funding led by Highland Capital Partners in conjunction with existing investor Accel Partners. The financing is in addition to the £3 million invested by Accel Partners in the summer of 2006 and will allow Autoquake to rapidly grow its UK operations, service offerings, technology platform and brand. It will also provide Autoquake with capital for its planned international expansion.

Autoquake sells high quality used cars direct to consumers through its website autoquake.com. Autoquake has pioneered the concept of enabling consumers to buy a used car from the comfort of their home. Cars are displayed in Autoquake’s virtual showroom, each with a comprehensive description and a picture library of 50+ high quality digital photos. The breadth and transparency of information about the vehicle and the ability to pay a fixed price online rather than haggle with a salesperson dramatically improves the purchase experience for the buyers who are enthusiastically embracing the Autoquake model.

Autoquake saves on costs by selling cars through its website without traditional car salespeople involved. A further saving is derived from Autoquake’s ecommerce platform which enables cars to be processed with factory like efficiency. These large savings are passed directly to the consumer. Autoquake continuously surveys the prices charged by car dealers and car supermarkets for specific makes and models on the internet to ensure that Autoquake’s price for a specific car is always among the lowest in the market. So far in 2008 Autoquake has offered car buyers discounts of, on average, 10 percent over car supermarkets and 17 percent over franchised dealer prices. On a £10,000 car that is a saving of £1,000 to £1,700.

All cars go through a 120 point inspection and come with a 100% money back guarantee. Car finance, warranty, insurance, part exchange and delivery are supplementary options that buyers can benefit from. While there are no sales people at Autoquake, the company employs friendly customer support staff to help guide customers through the process if needed. Customers can test drive the cars at one of Autoquake’s handover centres before committing to the purchase.

As part of the financing, Fergal Mullen, General Partner at Highland Capital Partners will join the Autoquake board. Fergal comments: “We believe Autoquake is in a unique position to transform the UK used car market. We were particularly impressed by the many happy car buyers Autoquake has. It is clear that the company is filling a void in the consumer purchase experience of used cars.”

"Our new financing will enable us to quickly ramp up our operations and develop Autoquake into a recognised and trusted brand. We are delighted to have Highland Capital Partners onboard. Like Accel, they have a breadth of successful ecommerce, internet and retail investments behind them and their track record speaks for itself.” says Garry Hobson, Chief Executive Officer of Autoquake.

Adds Kevin Comolli, Managing Partner of Accel Partners: “We continue to be impressed with the progress Autoquake is making. Key to this is the company’s unique blend of ecommerce and automotive expertise. We look forward to working with the Autoquake and Highland teams to help grow the company and build a category-defining business.”