As eBay Motors has revved up to become a massive marketplace, sellers of all stripes have embrace the site to offer both used and new cars. Now, a used-car operation that does business with the auction giant has attracted some venture capital.
Accel partners, which has a London office, took note of AutoQuake's high eBay feedback and volume of sales and put in a bid of its own – for a stake in the company.
"AutoQuake has taken an extremely creative and customer-centric approach to this market opportunity – which is very large," said Judy Gibbons, an Accel partner. "With recent developments in Web 2.0 technologies, the high growth in online communities and the large advertising spend in the car industry, we feel there are many additional exciting avenues for the company to explore."
Interest in AutoQuake has garnered it a $6-million Series A round of funding from Accel to expand its U.K. – based business of selling used cars on the enormously popular auction site.
Accel was impressed with Autoquake's track record, as it has so far sold more than 2,000 cars from U.K. sellers and maintained a 99.8 per cent positive feedback rating on eBay, said Kevin Comolli, a managing general partner with Accel. Positive feedback on eBay is a highly valued seal of approval for sellers.
AutoQuake, which announced the funding July 17, said it will use the money to increase its customer base and service offerings.
"Our new financing will allow us to expand nationally [in the United Kingdom] and develop AutoQuake into a recognised and trusted brand," said Jeanette Moskovits, chief executive of AutoQuake.
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