What Wirkaufendeinauto.de does

Wirkaufendeinauto.de (legal entity WKDA GmbH) is a German direct-to-consumer used car acquisition service founded in 2012 and headquartered in Berlin. The company offers consumers a free online vehicle valuation followed by an in-branch handover process, with a claimed base of more than 5 million completed purchases and more than 215 owned branches across Germany. It positions itself as Europe's largest used car buyer and also operates localized sister domains in Austria, Spain, France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Portugal.

The core technology is an online valuation engine that combines customer-provided vehicle data (make, model, year, mileage, condition, equipment) with proprietary historical data from more than 5 million past purchases to produce a guaranteed selling price, supported by a KI (AI) assistant input flow. Cars purchased from sellers are resold primarily through the sister platform Autohero, with secondary channels including the Auto1.com dealer marketplace and export flows. Adjacent product modules include a damaged-vehicle service (Defektes Auto verkaufen), export (Autoexport), a vehicle exchange marketplace (Autotauschbörse), an automotive magazine, and an affiliate partner program paying 150 EUR per completed referral.

Revenue is generated primarily as the spread between the consumer purchase price and the realized resale value through Autohero and other wholesale channels; the seller-facing service is free, with a 89.99 EUR administrative fee applied only to financed or leased vehicles. GTM combines national TV advertising for top-of-funnel awareness with an SEO-optimized website, location-specific branch pages, content marketing, email, and an affiliate network. The company is privately held, with the legal entity WKDA GmbH, and is referenced as part of the AUTO1 Group ecosystem in some contexts, though that affiliation is not explicitly confirmed in the source data.

Name

Wirkaufendeinauto.de

Legal name

WKDA GmbH

Website

https://wirkaufendeinauto.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wirkaufendeinauto.de (WKDA GmbH) is a Berlin-headquartered direct-to-consumer used car buyer operating 215+ owned branches across Germany and nine European countries, acquiring vehicles from individual sellers via a free online valuation and in-branch handover, then remarketing them primarily through its sister platform Autohero.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Used Car Buying Services

NAICS

Used Car Dealers (44112), Used Car Dealers (441120), Used Merchandise Retailers (459510)

SIC

Retail-Auto Dealers & Gasoline Stations (5500), Wholesale-Motor Vehicles & Motor Vehicle Parts & Supplies (5010)

akta.pro primary industry

Automotive Parts & Mobility Recommerce (Parts, Accessories, Bikes/Scooters) (CRAFAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Salvage, Total Loss & Insurance Auction Services (TLABAKAH)

Keywords

• Used car buying
• Online vehicle valuation
• Car trade-in service
• Automotive resale platform
• Direct car purchasing

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Used Car Purchase & Resale: The core revenue stream is buying used cars directly from consumers at the quoted price and reselling them through their sister platform Autohero or other wholesale channels. Margin is earned on the difference between purchase price and resale value.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Wirkaufendeinauto.de is a direct used-car purchasing service that buys vehicles from private owners at guaranteed prices. Customers receive a free online valuation, a final price by email, and complete the handover at one of 215+ company-owned branches across Germany. The company then resells purchased vehicles primarily through its sister platform Autohero. Related services include defective/damaged car purchases, vehicle export, a car exchange platform, and a certified used-car marketplace.

Product overview

Wirkaufendeinauto.de operates as a digital automotive marketplace offering three interconnected core services: a free online car valuation tool that calculates real-time market prices using vehicle data, a direct car purchasing service where the company buys vehicles from sellers for guaranteed prices, and a car marketplace where buyers can browse certified used vehicles. The platform also provides related services including insurance, financing information, and an affiliate program. The company operates over 215 physical branch locations across Germany for in-person vehicle assessments and purchases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Auto bewerten (Online Car Valuation) Free online tool that calculates the real-time market value of used vehicles by analyzing user-provided vehicle data through a proprietary valuation engine calibrated on over five million historical purchase transactions. For private car owners in Germany seeking a price quote.
• Auto verkaufen (Direct Car Purchase) Direct car-purchase service where the company buys the seller's used vehicle at the previously quoted final price, handles the purchase contract, free vehicle deregistration, and pays by immediate bank transfer. For private car owners wanting to sell a used vehicle without private listings or dealer negotiations.
• Auto kaufen (Certified Used Car Marketplace) Online marketplace for browsing and purchasing certified pre-owned vehicles, with filtering by brand, model, price, mileage, fuel type, and transmission. For consumers shopping for a used car.
• Defektes Auto verkaufen (Damaged / Defective Car Purchase) Specialized service for selling damaged, defective, or non-functional vehicles at a quoted price, addressing a category that is difficult to dispose of through private listings. For private owners of damaged or non-running cars.
• Autoexport (Vehicle Export Service) Export service for selling vehicles abroad, including support for international transactions and shipping documentation. For owners looking to sell vehicles that are better valued in foreign markets.
• Autotauschbörse (Car Exchange Platform) Vehicle exchange platform allowing users to swap their current vehicle for another available in the marketplace, serving as an alternative to a straight cash sale. For customers who want to move directly from an old to a replacement car.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5 million cars purchased from satisfied customers
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AutoherocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAutohero is the company's sister platform for used car sales. Cars purchased from customers through wirkaufendeinauto.de are resold via Autohero, creating an integrated buy-sell ecosystem. The Autohero marketplace is prominently cross-promoted on the wirkaufendeinauto.de website with a co-branded badge ('wirkaufendeinauto x Autohero').

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• AutoScout24: Pan-European used and new car listings marketplace; not a direct buyer but a key alternative channel German consumers cross-shop against when evaluating wirkaufendeinauto.de's offer price.

Emerging players

• Heycar: German used car online marketplace backed by Volkswagen Group; competes for the same German consumer audience at the discovery stage but, unlike wirkaufendeinauto.de, primarily lists dealers' inventory rather than buying directly.

Direct peers

• AUTO1 Group: Parent-group platform that operates the Auto1.com dealer marketplace and acquired wirkaufendeinauto.de; it shares the same inventory pool, valuation technology stack, and customer-facing brand playbook.
• Spinny: India-based used-car platform that buys cars directly from consumers, inspects them at hubs and resells through its own retail network; mirrors the buy-inspect-resell playbook in a different geography.
• Cars24: Large-scale instant car-buying platform active across India, the Middle East and other emerging markets; comparable as a tech-enabled, branch-led direct car acquirer targeting consumers.
• Carwow: UK-headquartered digital car marketplace that combines dealer offers with a sell-my-car flow; closely analogous in its consumer-first, instant-quote, branch-handover style of car acquisition.
• WeBuyAnyCar: Instant-cash-offer car buyer operating a high-volume branch network in the UK and US; structurally the closest international analogue to wirkaufendeinauto.de's free-online-quote-plus-physical-handover model.
• Autohero: Sister retail platform within the AUTO1 Group ecosystem that resells vehicles acquired through wirkaufendeinauto.de; the two together form a vertically integrated buy-then-sell used car marketplace with overlapping customer funnels.

Broad incumbents

• Carvana: US online used car retailer that pioneered consumer car-selling via online quotes and home delivery; comparable in its digital-first acquisition flow, though focused on the US retail-resale side of the spread.
• CarMax: Largest US used car retailer combining consumer sell-side instant offers with a large physical retail footprint; broader in scope and geographic reach but analogous in marrying online quotes with branch-based inspection and payout.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wkda_at
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wkda-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Wirkaufendeinauto.de