Get the led out! London’s pre-loved auto marketplace Motorway raises $190 million at $1 billion valuation

Not satisfied with simply drafting to a second-place finish, London’s Motorway pulls into pit lane to fuel up with 94 octane in a $190 million in Series C round. As the company rejoins the field, crew chief Tom Leathes slaps the unicorn sticker on the bonnet.

Hot on the heels of that “other” UK-based auto online marketplace unicorn, Motorway provides a marketplace to complete the tedious process of selling your current ride, all from the comfort of one's favourite armchair. The company has amassed a network of over 4,000 professional car dealers that are bidding directly on vehicles listed on the platform. The company reports that customers often sell their car for up to £1,000 more via the platform than if they did it outright, and gone in as little as 86,400 seconds.

Motorway intends to use the new funding to expand the team size, with a specific focus on the customer experience, with the ultimate goal of securing pole position when it comes to the online auto selling process.

“We’re now completing over 8,000 car sales a month. That’s a big number, but still less than one percent of UK used car sales - so there’s a massive opportunity ahead,” commented CEO Tom Leathes.

The round is led by Index Ventures and ICONIQ Growth. Existing investors Latitude, Unbound, and BMW i Ventures also participated in the round.

“Since joining the board, following our initial investment in June, I have experienced first-hand just how fast Motorway is growing and how agile the team is in scaling the business to support this incredible growth,” added Index Ventures’ Danny Rimer. “Strong leadership, coupled with great technology to fuel an incredibly powerful platform, has enabled Motorway to step up a gear and move into the fast lane - they’ve taken advantage of the strong market conditions and changing consumer and dealer behaviour to become the go-to place for people selling their car.”