Online used car retailer Cazoo has bought new car subscription platform Drover as part of its plans to launch a subscription service in 2021.
The acquisition means Cazoo can now offer motorists the ability to buy, finance or subscribe to any of its cars.
Drover offers car subscription contracts ranging from one to 24 months. A single monthly payment covers the car, maintenance, servicing, tax and breakdown cover. All motorists have to pay for is fuel.
It is described as a “flexible and hassle-free alternative to car ownership”.
In 2019, Drover partnered with Volkswagen to launch subscriptions of new cars: a Volkswagen Golf subscription cost from £528 a month, and a Volkswagen Tiguan was priced from £643 a month.
Other car companies on the Drover platform include Citroen, DS, Peugeot, Jaguar, Land Rover and Lexus.
Cazoo says ‘cars-as-a-service’, a fast-growing market, will now form a core part of its wider strategy.
Already calling itself the ‘Amazon of cars’, Cazoo believes the purchase will also allow it to become the ‘Netflix of cars’.
The company has achieved a valuation of over £2 billion and has delivered 10,000 cars in the year since its launch.
Earlier in 2020, Cazoo purchased car retail group Imperial Cars, converting the dealership sites into ‘customer centres’. 14 have been opened during the past 14 weeks.
Subscription customers will be able to use the customer centres too, if they don’t want to have their car delivered to their door.
The Drover brand and platform will now be integrated into Cazoo.
Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
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