Renault Group and its subsidiary RCI Bank and Services, specialized in automotive financing and services, have acquired an equity stake in Mobility Trader Holding GmbH to contribute to the development of the heycar platform in Europe and with a view to its launch in France.
heycar is an online used car sales platform originally owned by Volkswagen AG and by Daimler that was launched in Germany (2017) in cooperation with VAPS (Volkswagen und Audi Partnerverband), the German dealer association. The platform is already operational in the United Kingdom (2019) and Spain (2020). Representing a large number of dealer groups of different brands at some 5,000 locations with more than 380,000 vehicles, it markets quality used vehicles online, sold by professionals to retail customers (B2C).
In a fast-growing used car market marked by digitalization, this acquisition will strengthen Renault Group’s presence in the used car ecosystem through a high-quality digital experience.
RCI Bank and Services will offer financing and services adapted to the specificities of used vehicles and to customers' needs, for each vehicle put online by Renault Group dealers.
Renault Group will contribute to the development of the heycar platform in France by bringing Carizy to the project, the French leading start-up in C2C intermediation. Carizy, acquired in 2018 by the Renault Group, has experienced strong growth in sales volumes in France and will complement the B2C offering of heycar to develop its C2C business starting in France.
"We are very pleased with this project with heycar, which in just a few years has become a key player in the online distribution of used vehicles. This agreement is in line with Renault Group’s strategy to increase value creation at each stage of the vehicle life cycle. In line with the Re-Factory - the project to convert the Flins plant into a dedicated site for circular economy of mobility - through this partnership we intend to strengthen the competitiveness of our sales network across the entire used vehicle value chain: from procurement to after-sales, including reconditioning, marketing and sales of financing and services " said Luca de Meo, CEO Renault Group.
The completion of this acquisition is subject to the conditions normally applicable to this type of transaction, including the presentation to the respective boards of the involved parties, the employee representative bodies in France in accordance with the applicable French regulations and the possible approval of the relevant competition authorities. It is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2021.
About Renault Group
Renault Group is at the forefront of a mobility that is reinventing itself. Strengthened by its alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, and its unique expertise in electrification, Renault Group comprises 5 complementary brands - Renault, Dacia, LADA, Alpine and Mobilize - offering sustainable and innovative mobility solutions to its customers. Established in more than 130 countries, the Group has sold 2.9 million vehicles in 2020. It employs more than 170,000 people who embody its Purpose every day, so that mobility brings people closer. Ready to pursue challenges both on the road and in competition, Renault Group is committed to an ambitious transformation that will generate value. This is centred on the development of new technologies and services, and a new range of even more competitive, balanced and electrified vehicles. In line with environmental challenges, the Group’s ambition is to achieve carbon neutrality in Europe by 2040. https://www.renaultgroup.com/en/
About RCI Banque S.A.:
Created and wholly owned by Renault Group, RCI Banque S.A. is a French bank specializing in automotive financing and services for the customers and dealership networks of Renault Group (Renault, Dacia, Alpine, Renault Samsung Motors and Lada) worldwide, the Nissan group (Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun) mainly in Europe, Brazil, Argentina and South Korea and through joint ventures in Russia and India, and Mitsubishi Motors in the Netherlands.
RCI Bank and Services has been the new commercial identity of RCI Banque S.A. since February 2016.
With 3,800 employees in 36 countries, the group financed over 1.5 million contracts (for new and used vehicles) in 2020 and sold more than 4.6 million services.
At end-December 2020, average performing assets stood at €46.9 billion in financing and pre-tax income at €1.003 million.
RCI Bank and Services has rolled out a deposits collection business in seven countries since 2012. At end-December 2020, net collected deposits totaled €20.5 billion, or 43% of the company's net assets.
Find out more about RCI Bank and Services: www.rcibs.com. Follow us on Twitter: @RCIBS
About the heycar Group:
The heycar Group (Mobility Trader Holding GmbH) bundles all heycar national companies under one roof. Shareholders include Volkswagen Financial Services AG, Volkswagen AG, Daimler Mobility AG and Allianz SE. heycar is the fastest growing platform for quality used cars in the European automotive industry. We have been offering our customers a user-friendly and ad-free online platform for tested used cars of all classes and well-known makes since 2017. The financing offerings of our partners are deeply integrated into our services. Our goal is to revolutionize the way people buy and experience cars. We are data-driven and always put our customers at the centre of everything we do. We operate in Germany, UK and Spain and are forging ahead with our expansion into new markets. heycar Group headquarter is in Berlin. CEO of the heycar Group is Florian Schlieper, while André Warmuth is CFO.
