CarOnSale

High-Level Overview

CarOnSale is a Berlin-based B2B digital platform that powers used car auctions and provides a full-stack operating system for car dealerships across Europe, addressing the fragmented €450 billion wholesale used car market.[1][2][4] It serves thousands of professional dealers and major OEMs like Mercedes-Benz by offering end-to-end services including 75-point vehicle inspections, pricing intelligence, credit decisioning, payments, logistics, and fulfillment, solving pain points like opaque pricing, cross-border friction, and manual processes.[2][3][4] The company has shown strong growth momentum, raising a €70 million ($82 million) Series C round in 2025 led by Northzone (with participation from HV Capital and existing investors like Insight Partners and Creandum), following seed and Series A rounds, and completing its first acquisition of a dealership software provider.[2][4][5]

Origin Story

CarOnSale was founded in 2018 by Oguz Özgüler, Tom Krüger, Fabian Roth, and Maximilian Schilling, stemming from Oguz's frustrations in the used car industry.[1][2][4] Oguz, who opened his own dealership in 2011 and traded on early marketplaces, identified network limitations and lack of digitization by 2012; in 2018, he met Tom and Fabian through a childhood friend, and Max later joined, forming a team blending domain expertise, operations, product, and tech skills.[1][2] They started in Nürnberg, visiting local dealerships for feedback, with Fabian building the core platform code, Oguz handling admin, and Tom recruiting early talent; the first car sold for €3,000 that year, followed by seed funding from Creandum in 2019, a move to Berlin (plus a Munich office), Series A from Insight Partners in 2020, and rapid scaling.[1]

Core Differentiators

• Partnership Model Over Competition: Unlike rivals, CarOnSale partners with dealerships and OEMs (e.g., powering Mercedes-Benz auctions) via an asset-light, tech-driven approach that leverages European price discrepancies for wider market access.[1][2]
• Full-Stack Platform: Evolved from auctions to a comprehensive OS covering inspections (75-point checks), AI-powered pricing, credit, payments, logistics, and software integrations post-acquisition, enabling seamless cross-border B2B transactions.[2][3][4]
• Efficiency and Transparency: Digitizes a historically offline €180-450 billion market, reducing fragmentation and manual processes for thousands of dealers, with developer-friendly backbone code still in use.[1][2][4]
• Proven Scale: Processes high transaction volumes, supports pan-European expansion, and backs this with strong funding and a complementary founder team.[2][4][5]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

CarOnSale rides the wave of automotive digitization in a €450+ billion European used car market long resistant to tech due to fragmentation, opacity, and borders, timing perfectly with rising demand for efficient B2B trade amid supply chain shifts and electrification trends.[2][4] Market forces like cross-border price arbitrage, OEM digital pushes, and AI integration favor its model, positioning it as a category leader against competitors like VavaCars or Cars24 by focusing on wholesale pros rather than consumers.[2][3] It influences the ecosystem by enabling small dealers and giants alike, driving transparency, and accelerating modernization—potentially integrating AI for generational impact in an archaic industry.[2]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

CarOnSale is poised to dominate Europe's B2B auto trade with its Series C fueling team growth, product enhancements (e.g., AI features), European expansion into new countries, and deeper OEM integrations.[2][4][5] Trends like AI-driven pricing, logistics automation, and EV wholesale surges will shape its path, evolving its influence from auction pioneer to indispensable OS amid intensifying competition.[2] This builds on its founder-driven momentum, cementing its role in transforming a stubborn market into a tech-powered powerhouse.[1][2]