Why We Are Doubling Down on Motorway in the Series C Only 5 Months after the Series B

We are incredibly proud to announce that we are doubling down on UK-based Motorway by participating in the $190m Series C round, led by Index Ventures and ICONIQ Growth, following our investment in the Series B in June this year. The team has achieved outstanding growth over the past few months after flawlessly executing on their business plan in the face of growing competition and a rapidly changing market environment.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the used car market has largely shifted to the digital world. With Motorway, both sellers and buyers have found a differentiated solution with a superior user experience. The company has managed not only to seize the opportunity during the pandemic but also to respond to the demands of sellers and buyers by fundamentally simplifying and accelerating the sales process. The team’s agile execution at scale, coupled with strong market tailwinds, have led to a 300% uplift in third-quarter sales to $411 million compared with $105 million last year.

The added value that Motorway provides for both sellers and dealers is substantial, and is the driver for Motorway's continued success story and rapid pace in recent months. In addition to the benefits for sellers, which include a higher price, a fast transaction (up to < 1 day) and a convenient experience without unpleasant negotiations, a much better offer has also been created for car dealers who can now access vehicle supply from private sellers with consistent quality and descriptions.

Since the launch of the platform in 2017, over 100,000 used cars have been sold on Motorway, with over 8,000 cars currently being sold a month and a new sale being agreed every five minutes. Currently Motorway is on a run-rate to exceed $2bn in revenue next year. We confidently believe that the team around serial entrepreneurs Tom Leathes, Harry Jones and Alex Buttle, as well as recently appointed CMO Lloyd Page (formerly of Moneysupermarket and John Lewis) and COO James Wilson (former Director of Marketplace Fulfillment for Amazon UK) can achieve that.

Motorway founding team (from left to right): Alex Buttle (Co-Founder & Marketing Director), Tom Leathes (Co-Founder & CEO), Harry Jones (Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer)