Chesterman alex 400

Cazoo has agreed a long-term partnership with Ogilvie Fleet covering damage recharging and the disposal of more than 18,000 vehicles for the leasing company at the end of contract. The online car retailer will provide a range of end of life services to Ogilvie, including inspect and collect services across the UK and in-house technology solutions.

The companies said the partnership brings a number of benefits, such as improved customer experience via technology for Ogilvie's customers, efficiencies within Ogilvie's remarketing process and vehicle supply for Cazoo's long term growth.

Alex Chesterman, founder & CEO of Cazoo (pictured) said: “Our acquisitions of SMH Fleet Solutions & SFS have given us the nationwide infrastructure and expert team to offer a full end-to-end service to fleet owners across the UK. This is a significant partnership for us and will see Cazoo handling a large number of vehicles during this long-term contract and we’re delighted to be working with Ogilvie Fleet.”

Gordon Stephen, Ogilvie Fleet managing director, described the move as “a win-win-win for Ogilvie Fleet, Cazoo and our valued client base”.

“Aside from the move being a sound financial decision, our new relationship with Cazoo also significantly enhances our customer and driver interactions with more streamlined processes, as well as many new add-in service benefits, such as Amazon-style delivery and collection notifications direct to a driver’s phone with live ETA’s. Importantly, our unique approach to fairness and transparency with any reconditioning costs is completely maintained -and in fact enhanced no less – through a greater focus on imagery and speed of advice,” Stephen said.

Jim Hannah, Ogilvie Fleet operations director, added: “The whole of the car buying market has seen incredible change in the past two years and we believed the time was right to investigate how we could embrace these changes in our own disposal routes. We were also keen to look at how we can improve processes, enhance efficiency and also add further value for our clients. We carefully considered a number of new ways of managing this critical element of our business and it soon became clear that partnering with Cazoo would offer a number of substantial benefits for Ogilvie Fleet and our clients.”

Cazoo moves into Europe

Earlier this month, Cazoo paid €30 million for Swipcar, a leading Spanish digital car subscription marketplace, as part of its plans for European expansion in Spain and Italy next year.

Founded in 2018, Swipcar has grown to a team of around 100 staff based in Barcelona and offers a wide selection of cars available from various leasing company partners for an all-inclusive single monthly subscription payment which includes the car, insurance, maintenance, service and tax.

As well as operating in Spain, Swipcar has also recently launched in Italy and Portugal. Cazoo said the transaction will combine its market-leading brand and platform with Swipcar’s expertise and relationships in southern Europe and, once integrated, will accelerate the launch of Cazoo’s full proposition into these markets.