What Kroschke Gruppe does

Kroschke Gruppe (legal entity: Christoph Kroschke GmbH) is a German, family-owned automotive services company headquartered in Ahrensburg, operating approximately 350 branch and partner locations nationwide with around 1,900 employees. Founded in 1957 in Braunschweig and now in its third generation of family leadership under Philipp Kroschke and Dr. Felix Kroschke, the company provides vehicle registration (Kfz-Zulassung), license plate manufacturing and sales, and nationwide vehicle transport (Kfz-Überführung) services. Its core digital offering is the Kfz-Zulassungsdienst web configurator, which enables online registration in roughly five minutes, supported by DHL and UPS logistics partnerships and a Trusted Shops-certified e-commerce platform.

The technology backbone consists of the ON customer portal for automotive dealers and the carTRUST platform, both built to integrate with dealer management systems (DMS), ERP, and CRM environments, and to connect directly with the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) via the i-Kfz bulk customer interface (GKS) for automated registration processing. Proprietary features include qualified electronic signatures (QES), real-time preferred license plate inquiry, and a pre-registration service for OEMs and importers that captures and validates vehicle data, CoC documents, and homologation information before registration. Kroschke is an official member of the KBA digitization project and holds a strategic digital partnership with Santander Deutschland for end-to-end financing-to-registration workflows.

Kroschke generates revenue across multiple streams: registration services (with all-inclusive government fee pass-through and DHL return shipping), license plate hardware (unit-priced from EUR 12.50 for standard plates to EUR 22.95 for carbon plates), vehicle transport (40,000+ transfers annually at all-inclusive pricing), enterprise managed services and platform access (ON, carTRUST, API integrations) for dealers, OEMs, banks, insurance, leasing, fleet, and rental companies, and automotive accessories such as electronic parking discs and fine-dust stickers. Distribution combines 350+ physical branches with e-commerce and system-to-system enterprise integrations, marketed through content, email, social channels, industry events, and CSR communications under sub-brands including carTRUST and Kroschke Alliance.

Name

Kroschke Gruppe

Legal name

Christoph Kroschke GmbH

Website

https://kroschke.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1957

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Kroschke Gruppe is a third-generation, family-owned German automotive services company operating 350+ branches and digital platforms for vehicle registration, license plate manufacturing, and nationwide vehicle transport, serving dealers, OEMs, banks, leasing firms, fleets, and private customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vehicle Registration Services

NAICS

Motor Vehicle Supplies and New Parts Merchant Wholesalers (423120), Motor Vehicle and Motor Vehicle Parts and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (4231), Automobile and Other Motor Vehicle Merchant Wholesalers (42311), Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers (441)

SIC

Wholesale-Motor Vehicles & Motor Vehicle Parts & Supplies (5010), Wholesale-Motor Vehicle Supplies & New Parts (5013), Services-Automotive Repair, Services & Parking (7500)

akta.pro primary industry

B2B Marketplaces & Wholesale Platforms (BPAMAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Automotive Parts, Tires & Workshop Supplies Marketplaces (CRAFAHAD), Dealer-to-Dealer (B2B) Vehicle Remarketing Networks (TLABAKAB)

Keywords

• Vehicle registration services
• License plate manufacturing
• Automotive compliance solutions
• Vehicle transport logistics
• Digital registration platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

Ahrensburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Vehicle Registration Services: Online vehicle registration, re-registration, seasonal registration, and deregistration services for cars and motorcycles. Includes document handling, government fee processing, and license plate delivery.
2. License Plates and Accessories: Sale of license plates including Euro license plates, E-plates, H-plates, seasonal plates, carbon plates, and accessories (license plate holders, dust stickers, parking discs, warning triangles).
3. Vehicle Transport Services: Vehicle transportation and delivery services, handling over 40,000 vehicle transports per year across Germany.
4. Certificate of Conformity (CoC): Reprinting services for Certificate of Conformity documents for various vehicle brands.
5. Industry Solutions / B2B Services: Customized digital process solutions and registration services for automotive dealers, OEMs, banks, insurance companies, leasing firms, and fleet operators.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kroschke Gruppe provides vehicle registration services (online configurator and in-person), manufactures and sells German license plates (Euro, E-, H-, seasonal, motorcycle, carbon), and offers nationwide vehicle transport handling 40,000+ transfers per year. For B2B customers it runs the ON customer portal and the carTRUST platform with direct integration to the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) i-Kfz system, enabling automated registration workflows for automotive dealers, OEMs, banks, insurance, leasing, rental and fleet operators. Revenue combines service fees (registration, transport, CoC reprints), hardware sales (plates, accessories), and managed B2B industry solutions.

Product overview

Kroschke Gruppe operates as a multi-brand platform offering integrated vehicle registration (Kfz-Zulassung), license plate manufacturing (KFZ Kennzeichen), and vehicle transport (Kfz-Überführung) services. The core offering is the Kfz-Zulassungsdienst, an online registration platform accessible via a web-based configurator, supported by physical license plate production and nationwide vehicle transport logistics. For business customers, Kroschke provides the ON web-based customer portal for car dealerships and the carTRUST platform for digital registration via the i-Kfz bulk customer interface. Industry-specific solutions (Branchenlösungen) are offered for car dealerships, banks, OEMs, leasing companies, fleets, and rental companies, while individual products like seasonal registration (Saisonzulassung), short-term plates (Kurzzeitkennzeichen), and CoC reprints serve private customers. The portfolio also includes Pre-Registration services for OEMs, and accessories such as fine dust stickers, parking discs, and electronic parking discs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• carTRUST: Digital vehicle registration platform and project partner for iKfz implementation.
• Kroschke Kinderstiftung
• Kroschke Alliance

Products and services

• Kfz-Zulassungsdienst (Vehicle Registration Service) Online vehicle registration service enabling customers to register, re-register, transfer, and deregister vehicles digitally via a web-based configurator, with preferred license plate requests and document handling through DHL.
• KFZ Kennzeichen (License Plates) Production and sale of various German vehicle license plates including Euro plates, E-plates, H-plates (historic), seasonal plates, motorcycle plates, and carbon fiber plates, with optional accessories such as plate holders.
• Kfz-Überführung (Vehicle Transport) Nationwide vehicle transport and delivery service handling over 40,000 vehicle transfers per year, offering all-inclusive pricing with smooth and rapid processing.
• ON (Online-Kundenportal) Web-based customer portal specifically developed for car dealerships and companies to digitally manage the entire vehicle registration process—from commissioning through status tracking—with seamless integration into existing DMS, CRM and ERP systems.
• carTRUST Digital vehicle registration platform and project partner for i-Kfz bulk customer interface implementation, enabling companies to perform fully digital vehicle registration with automated processing and direct authority connections.
• Branchenlösungen (Industry Solutions) Tailored registration and digital process solutions for specific industries including car dealerships, banks and insurance companies, OEMs, rental companies, leasing companies, marketers, fleets, and private customers/SMEs.
• Pre-Registration Service Pre-registration service for OEMs and importers that digitally captures, validates, and centralizes all vehicle-related data including CoC handling, homologation information, serial numbers, and import documents before the actual registration process.
• Certificate of Conformity (CoC) Nachdruck Reprint service for Certificate of Conformity documents required for vehicle registration, available for various vehicle brands.
• Zubehör (Automotive Accessories) Automotive accessories including license plate holders, fine dust stickers (Feinstaubplakette), parking discs, warning triangles, electronic parking discs (ESCARBO PARK+), speed signs, and safety screws.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 40,000 vehicle transports completed annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Santander DeutschlandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025Strategic digital partnership developing an end-to-end digital process connecting vehicle financing and registration. A joint pilot project with selected dealers launches in April 2026, with the goal of establishing an integrated digital process as a new industry standard for German automotive retail.
• Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial member of the KBA digitization project for internet-based vehicle registration (i-Kfz). Kroschke participates in permanent dialogue with German authorities including KBA and BMDV, helping to advance digital registration and related innovation processes.
• ASIA GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic equity investment in Italian ASIA Group with joint trade fair presence at events in Verona, representing Kroschke's international expansion in the vehicle registration services market.
• Automotive Dealers (via Santander)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPilot program with selected automotive dealers for integrated financing-registration process. Dealers benefit from accelerated processing times and earlier payment release in vehicle financing transactions.
• DHLminorOthersDHL overnight service used for document collection from customers and delivery of registration materials and license plates.
• UPSminorOthersUPS express shipping partner for next-day delivery of license plates and registration documents.
• Bugl & Kollegen (Datenschutz)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExternal data protection and information security consultancy providing compliance advisory services.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ASIA Group: Italian vehicle registration and automotive services provider in which Kroschke holds a strategic equity investment. ASIA Group offers the closest direct analogue to Kroschke's core registration services model in another European market, making it the most comparable peer.

Broad incumbents

• DEKRA: Germany-based global automotive testing, inspection, and certification services giant. While not a vehicle registration specialist, DEKRA operates across the broader automotive services value chain (vehicle inspection, claims, used car evaluation) and has the scale and capital to enter or acquire into the registration services space.
• TÜV SÜD: German technical inspection and certification conglomerate with automotive testing services. TÜV SÜD serves overlapping automotive B2B customers (OEMs, dealers, fleet operators) and has the brand and capital to expand into adjacent registration or document services.
• GTÜ (Gesellschaft für Technische Überwachung): German vehicle inspection organization serving dealers and private customers with technical evaluations. Operates in adjacent automotive services categories to Kroschke and shares customer overlap with automotive dealers and fleet operators.

Others

• DAT Group: German provider of vehicle data, valuation, and market intelligence services for the automotive industry. DAT shares dealer and OEM customer relationships with Kroschke and operates in complementary vehicle data workflows (valuations, CoC data, market pricing).
• AUTO1 Group: German used car marketplace and platform operator connecting dealers and consumers. AUTO1 is a digitally native automotive platform that shares the dealer-customer segment with Kroschke and represents a potential adjacent integration or competitive threat to registration-related workflows.
• mobile.de: Germany's leading online vehicle marketplace, now part of Adevinta. mobile.de serves the same dealer and private customer base as Kroschke and could expand vertically into adjacent vehicle lifecycle services including registration.
• Autovista Group: European provider of vehicle data, valuation, and specification services for OEMs, dealers, and insurers. Autovista overlaps with Kroschke on the data validation and vehicle specification side of the registration workflow (relevant to CoC handling).
• Creditplus Bank: German consumer and automotive financing bank offering vehicle financing products to dealers and end customers. Like Santander, Creditplus is a financing partner type that competes for the integration standard Kroschke is pursuing through its Santander partnership.

Emerging players

• CarVertical: Vehicle history and data platform serving consumers and dealers with provenance, valuation, and specification data. CarVertical is an emerging digital player intersecting with Kroschke's dealer and OEM customers on vehicle data workflows.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@kroschkegruppe
• Facebookfacebook.com/kroschkegroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kroschke-zulassung
• Instagraminstagram.com/kroschkegruppe

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kroschke Gruppe