ONLINE car retailer Cazoo has agreed to acquire Drover, the UK car subscription platform, for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 2016, Drover has grown to a team of over 100 across London, Lisbon, Paris and Bucharest. It offers a flexible and hassle-free alternative to car ownership, with a single monthly subscription fee which includes the car, maintenance, service, road tax and breakdown cover.
The deal will combine Cazoo’s brand, platform and funding with Drover’s expertise and relationships in car subscription and, once integrated, will enable Cazoo to give its customers the option of purchasing, financing or subscribing to the thousands of cars on its platform.
Drover also has a nascent and fast-growing subscription business in France which will form the launchpad for Cazoo’s planned European expansion as it looks to both mirror the offering in France to the wider Cazoo proposition and push into other markets.
Cazoo had planned to launch its own subscription service in late 2021 and this acquisition will now accelerate its plans in the fast-growing Cars-as-a-Service (CaaS) market as it seeks to extend its offering to also become the Netflix of cars.
Cazoo is pioneering a shift to online car buying in the UK, it owns and fully reconditions its cars before offering them on its website with thousands of cars in stock at any time.
The business has been rolling out its Customer Centres across the UK, opening 14 new sites in the past 14 weeks and once this acquisition is integrated its subscription customers will be able to choose between having their car delivered to their door or collecting it within as little as 72 hours.
Cazoo Chief Executive and founder Alex Chesterman said the acquisition of Drover will enable the business to rapidly expand into car subscriptions giving customers the option of purchasing their next car outright, financing it over a multi-year period or subscribing for a shorter, more flexible period.
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