Daimler Becomes Part Owner Of Volkswagen On-line Used Car Financing and Warranty Company

Braunschweig, Berlin, Stuttgart September 14, 2018; Daimler, through its Daimler Financial Services division, is set to become a partner and investor in used-vehicle platform heycar, which was successfully launched by Volkswagen Financial Services AG in October 2017. Daimler will acquire its stake as part of a capital increase. On completion of the transaction, Daimler will hold 20% of Mobility Trader Holding GmbH, which operates the heycar platform on the German market through its subsidiary Mobility Trader GmbH. Daimler Financial Services will take a seat on the advisory board of Mobility Trader GmbH and – if heycar expands internationally – a seat on the advisory board of each additionally founded national company. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The transaction is still subject to regulatory approval. Once approved, the transaction is expected to be closed in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Franz Reiner, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler Financial Services AG with responsibility for Europe and Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Bank AG: "Used vehicles are increasingly being bought and financed online. With our strategic investment in heycar, we are enabling the further expansion of a cross-brand platform for manufacturers, dealers, automotive banks and customers on which everything is available from a single source, from purchase through to financing and insurance."

Dr. Christian Dahlheim, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Financial Services AG with responsibility for Sales and Marketing: "With heycar, we positioned ourselves from the outset as a cross-brand quality platform for used vehicles of every automotive brand. So we are delighted to welcome Daimler as a further investor in the heycar concept. This will allow heycar to continue on its path as a high-quality and consistently customer-focused alternative to platforms such as mobile.de and Autoscout24. We are open to further investors and believe that this underpins our claim to brand neutrality."

heycar was founded in October 2017 as a cross-brand premium used-vehicle platform focused on authorised dealers. The platform now represents over 1000 dealer groups of different brands at some 3000 locations with over 300,000 vehicles. The CEO of the Berlin-based start-up is Markus Kröger, who previously held management positions at major digital companies such as PayPal and Delivery Hero. heycar is limited to used vehicles no more than eight years old with a maximum mileage of 150,000 km. All vehicles come with a warranty from the dealer, manufacturer or insurer. There are compulsory service standards for the affiliated brand dealers, who must also satisfy defined quality criteria.

"With a view to our customers, heycar's premium claim fits ideally with our online sales strategy for high-quality Mercedes-Benz used cars – 'Young Stars' – in Germany. In July 2017, we became the first manufacturer to offer an online sales platform in Germany. And, starting this year, there is also a trade-in facility for customer vehicles. As far as our dealers are concerned, the new channel means even better sales opportunities," says Dr. Carsten Oder, Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Sales Germany.