Carspring
Carspring is a London-based online used car dealership founded in 2015, serving UK consumers seeking used vehicles through its carspring.co.uk digital storefront. The privately held for-profit company employs 11–50 staff and has raised approximately $9.8M across three funding rounds through August 2017 from Rocket Internet, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, ZG Ventures, Revolution, and Channel 4.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Carspring does
Carspring is a London-based online used car dealership founded in 2015 and operating in the United Kingdom. The company positions itself as "Europe's fastest growing online used car dealership," serving consumer buyers of used vehicles through a digital storefront at carspring.co.uk. It is a privately held, for-profit company with a headcount range of 11–50 employees, indicating a small-scale operating footprint consistent with an early-stage UK online auto retailer rather than a multi-country volume operator.
Carspring's business model is B2C used-vehicle retail intermediated through its online platform; the company monetizes by sourcing and reselling used cars rather than operating a third-party listing or auction marketplace. Its capital base derives from three disclosed funding rounds between April 2015 and August 2017, totaling approximately $9.8 million, with investors including Rocket Internet, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, ZG Ventures, Revolution, and Channel 4 (Channel 4 participated in both the earliest 2015 round and the largest 2017 round). Following the August 2017 raise, no subsequent funding events, product launches, or strategic expansions are documented in the source material.
No proprietary technology stack, AI/ML capabilities, mobile applications, partnership network, named customers, management team, awards, patents, or geographic-expansion details are disclosed in the input data for Carspring. This limits any technical or strategic architecture characterization; the source material supports only a description of the firmographic profile and capital history described above.
Carspring firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Carspring
- Legal name
- Car And Classic Ltd.
- Website
- https://carspring.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Carspring is a London-based online used car dealership founded in 2015, serving UK consumers seeking used vehicles through its carspring.co.uk digital storefront. The privately held for-profit company employs 11–50 staff and has raised approximately $9.8M across three funding rounds through August 2017 from Rocket Internet, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, ZG Ventures, Revolution, and Channel 4.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Carspring is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Carspring business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Auction commissions: The platform hosts live auctions where buyers bid on vehicles. The platform likely charges a commission or buyer's premium on auction transactions, similar to traditional auction houses.
- Dealer subscriptions/listing fees: The platform features a dealer directory and allows registered dealers to list vehicles for sale. This suggests a dealer subscription or listing fee model.
- Insurance products referral: Car and Classic Limited acts as an Appointed Representative of Bluefriars Brokers Limited for insurance product distribution, earning referral commissions.
- Finance products referral: Car and Classic Limited acts as an Introducer Appointed Representative of Motiv Finance Limited for finance products, earning referral commissions from introductions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Private seller listings - Basic listing on marketplace |
| Subscription | Monthly | Dealer accounts - Professional dealer listings with enhanced visibility |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Carspring product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Carspring is an online used car dealership operating across Europe, founded in 2015 and headquartered in London. The company enables consumers to sell their used vehicles and purchase inspected pre-owned cars through a digital interface, positioning itself as Europe's fastest growing online used car retailer. It operates through its carspring.co.uk website, targeting individual car buyers and sellers in the United Kingdom market.
Product overview
Car & Classic is a unified online marketplace platform for classic and specialist vehicles, combining a listings marketplace, live auction system, insurance services, and vehicle valuation tools. The core products include the Classic Cars Marketplace and Live Auctions platform, supplemented by insurance, valuation, and magazine content modules. The platform serves an international audience across 10 country-specific sites and features vehicles from over 100 makes including Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes, Ford, and MG.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Online Used Car Dealership Platform An online retail platform at carspring.co.uk that enables UK consumers to sell their used vehicles and purchase inspected pre-owned cars; the company operates as the dealer of record rather than as a third-party listing marketplace.
Quantifiable outcome
- Trustpilot rating of 4.6/5 (Excellent)
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Carspring
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Carspring technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Carspring partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Bluefriars Brokers LimitedcoreCar and Classic Limited is an Appointed Representative of Bluefriars Brokers Limited (FCA Firm Reference Number 604987), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for the distribution of insurance products. This partnership enables Car & Classic to offer classic car insurance products to its customers.
- Motiv Finance LimitedcoreCar and Classic Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative (IAR) of Motiv Finance Limited (FCA Firm Reference Number 827288), authorised and regulated by the FCA. Motiv Finance Limited acts as a broker (not a lender) for finance products. This partnership enables Car & Classic to offer vehicle financing options to customers.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves3 records
Carspring competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Auto Trader UK: The dominant UK online car marketplace with millions of listings and deep consumer brand recognition. Directly comparable as the incumbent Carspring must displace in the UK online used car category.
- Cinch: UK online used car retailer owned by Constellation Automotive Group, offering a fully online purchase-to-delivery experience with financing and part-exchange. Closely comparable vertically integrated online used car retail model.
- Carwow: UK-headquartered online car marketplace that connects buyers with dealers via a transparent offer process. Comparable as a UK-based digital car buying platform, though more skewed toward new cars.
- Heycar: European online used car marketplace backed by Volkswagen Group, operating across the UK and continental Europe. Comparable as a digital-first used car marketplace with strong OEM backing.
- Auto1 Group: Berlin-headquartered European online used car platform with operations across 30+ countries. Comparable as a venture-backed, tech-enabled used car retailer that has scaled across European markets.
Broad incumbents
- CarGurus: Global online car marketplace with strong UK and European presence. Comparable as a broader automotive marketplace incumbent, though more diversified across new and used segments.
Regional players
- Carvana: US-based online used car retailer known for its fully online purchase-to-delivery model and car vending machines. Comparable business model (online-only used car retail) but operates in a different geography.
- Cars.com: Major US online car marketplace with deep consumer brand recognition. Comparable as a large-scale car marketplace incumbent, though US-focused.
- Droom: India-based online used car marketplace with end-to-end services including inspection, financing, and warranty. Comparable as an online-first used car platform, though operating in India.
- Spinny: India-based full-stack online used car retailer offering inspected vehicles with fixed pricing and home delivery. Comparable vertically integrated online used car model, though India-focused.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Carspring social profiles
Digital presenceCarspring financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Carspring leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Carspring funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Carspring M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Carspring
What does Carspring do?
Carspring is an online used car dealership operating across Europe, founded in 2015 and headquartered in London. The company enables consumers to sell their used vehicles and purchase inspected pre-owned cars through a digital interface, positioning itself as Europe's fastest growing online used car retailer. It operates through its carspring.co.uk website, targeting individual car buyers and sellers in the United Kingdom market.
Is Carspring a public or private company?
Carspring is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Carspring founded?
Carspring was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Carspring based?
Carspring is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Carspring make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Auction commissions are the primary driver. The others are dealer subscriptions/listing fees, insurance products referral and finance products referral.
Who are Carspring's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Auto Trader UK, Cinch, Carwow, Heycar and Auto1 Group. CarGurus is listed as a broad incumbent. Regional players are Carvana, Cars.com, Droom and Spinny.
Does Carspring have an API?
No public API is recorded for Carspring.