Carwow has bought print and digital media company Autovia for an undisclosed sum.
Autovia owns consumer motoring brands Auto Express, evo, DrivingElectric and Carbuyer and an annual automotive satisfaction survey, Driver Power.
The aim is to extend Carwow’s audience reach and boost business with dealers and carmakers. Carwow already has huge consumer reach with its YouTube channel generating 1.1bn video views in 2023.
It said the deal also presents new opportunities for embedding its e-commerce offering for new and used–car sales across Autovia’s brand titles, as well as for motorists looking to sell their old cars.
Since 2011, Carwow has helped over 2.5 million people find, buy or sell a car in the UK, Germany and Spain. One in every 10 of all new cars registered privately in the UK is bought via its website.
It continues to grow the business and remain in the red. In the year to December 2022, it turned in pre-tax losses of -£29.6m on turnover of £39.9m following heavy investment in Sell My Car.
Carwow CEO John Veichmanis (pictured) said: “Over the last decade, we’ve become synonymous with creating some of the world’s most popular, entertaining, and informative car content.
“As a result, Carwow is the starting point for millions of drivers when they think about changing cars.
Julian Lloyd-Evans, executive director at Autovia, said: “We are very pleased to become part of the Carwow Group.
Like us, Carwow places huge value on quality, independent, editorial that gives its audiences the knowledge and reassurance they need, no matter what their budget or preference, when it comes to changing their car.
“In Carwow, we are excited to be part of an industry-leading marketplace business that delivers a great customer experience and significant sales for its OEM and dealer partners.”