Press Release

September 13, 2018

Volkswagen Financial Services bring Daimler on board as new investor for their premium used-car platform heycar
 

Daimler Financial Services acquire 20% stake in Mobility Trader Holding GmbH

Capital increase at the Berlin-based start-up to promote further growth

Deal subject to approval by antitrust authorities

Braunschweig, Berlin, Stuttgart, 13 September 2018. Volkswagen Financial Services have been able to secure Daimler's financial division as a partner and investor for their used-car platform heycar, which was launched with great success in October 2017. Daimler's financial engagement is taking place by way of a capital increase. On completion of the transaction, Daimler will hold a 20% stake in Mobility Trader Holding GmbH, which operates the heycar platform in the German market via its subsidiary Mobility Trader GmbH. Daimler Financial Services will then hold a seat on the advisory board of Mobility Trader GmbH and – as and when heycar expands beyond Germany – one seat on the advisory board of each additional international subsidiary. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The transaction is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.
 
Dr. Christian Dahlheim, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, says: "We have clearly positioned ourselves with heycar right from the outset as a cross-brand quality platform for used cars from all automobile brands. We are therefore especially delighted that now Daimler is convinced enough by the heycar concept to become an additional investor and buy a stake in the venture. With this participation, heycar is continuing on its path of providing a high-quality and consistently customer-oriented alternative to platforms such as mobile.de and Autoscout24. We remain very open to further investors and believe that this attitude underpins our strategic claim to brand neutrality".
 
Franz Reiner, Member of the Board of Management for the Region Europe at Daimler Financial Services AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Bank AG, points out: "Used cars are increasingly being bought and financed online. Our strategic investment in heycar enables the further expansion of a cross-brand platform for manufacturers, dealers, automobile banks and customers where everything from the car purchase to financing and insurance cover can be offered from a single source."
 
heycar was founded in October 2017 as a premium platform for trading pre-owned cars that is both brand-neutral and focuses on collaboration with authorised brand dealers. Over 1,000 dealer groups of various brands are currently represented on the platform at around 3,000 locations with more than 300,000 vehicles on offer. The company's CEO is Markus Kröger.


Information for editors:

Volkswagen Financial Services are a business division of the Volkswagen AG group of companies and comprise Volkswagen Financial Services AG along with its associated companies, Volkswagen Bank GmbH, Porsche Financial Services, and the financial services companies in the USA, Canada, and Spain that belong directly or indirectly to Volkswagen AG – with the exception of the financial services of the Scania brand and Porsche Holding Salzburg. The key business fields embrace dealer and customer financing, leasing, the bank and insurance business, fleet management and mobility offers. Volkswagen Financial Services have a total of 15,770 employees worldwide – including 6,670 alone in Germany. Volkswagen Financial Services report total assets of around EUR 186.9 billion, an operating result of EUR 2.5 billion euros and a portfolio of around 19.7 million current contracts (as at: 31.12.2017).
 
heycar is the new, user-friendly online platform for purchasing inspected and approved used cars of all categories from selected quality dealers in Germany. The Berlin-based start-up only brokers used cars that are no more than eight years old and have a maximum mileage of 150,000 km. All vehicles come with a guarantee from the dealer, manufacturer or insurer. In addition, there are binding service standards for the affiliated dealers, who also have to satisfy specifically defined quality criteria. Further information can be found at www.hey.car.


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