Carwow on track for £100m sales milestone as platform expands

Carwow, the online car sales platform, is on track to reach £100 million in annual sales this year, even as consumer confidence remains fragile and electric-vehicle uptake lags. The marketplace connects buyers and sellers of new and used cars through a network of dealerships and charges dealers a fee for each genuine buyer inquiry or successful lead generated on the site.

Carwow has grown rapidly in recent years, helped by its YouTube channel hosted by influencer Mat Watson, which has more than 10 million subscribers. The company also bought Auto Express magazine last year and says it drew 115 million unique visits to its website last year and has more than a billion YouTube views across its network, making it the most watched car channel in the world.

Some nine million people change their car every year, said chief executive John Veichmanis. "We see most of them."

Sales rose 55 per cent to £85.1 million in 2024, with further double-digit growth forecast this year, though operating losses increased to £16.5 million from £1.3 million, latest accounts show. "We could be profitable tomorrow if we didn't invest in the business," Veichmanis said. The results reflect ongoing investment in technology, data analytics, and expanding the dealer network as the platform scales.

Carwow is backed by US buy-out group Bessemer, which put in another £40 million last year to fund technology investment. Staff numbers grew to 509 from 338, but Veichmanis said the rise in employer national insurance in the last Budget "really hit the business." The funding round helped accelerate product development and international expansion, including a growing emphasis on the Chinese-brands segment.

Chinese-owned car brands were doing "phenomenally well" on the platform, Veichmanis added, especially Jaecoo, a model that has become a top seller for some dealers. And there was still "huge" demand for Land Rovers and Range Rovers despite the cyberattack on their parent company, Jaguar Land Rover, he noted.

Electric vehicle sales have been disappointing, with zero-emission cars no longer exempt from vehicle tax. But Veichmanis said he would not be surprised if the Government replaced road tax and fuel duty with a pay-per-mile road pricing scheme in November's Budget that could bring in "significant revenues" for the Treasury.

Looking ahead, Carwow plans to maintain its growth trajectory through continued platform investment and by expanding its dealer network, even as the broader car market remains uneven. The company emphasizes its role as a matchmaker between buyers and dealers, a model that has drawn record traffic and elevated attention in automotive media, with the aim of hitting its £100 million annual sales milestone this year and sustaining momentum into 2026.