Drover (company)

British company providing vehicle subscriptions

DroverCompany type| Privately held company

|

Industry| Automotive Industry
Founded| 2015
Founder|

* Felix Leuschner
* Matt Varughese

Defunct| June 22, 2022; 3 years ago (2022-06-22)
Headquarters|

London

Services| Car Subscriptions

Number of employees

| 120
Website| www.joindrover.com

Drover was a British company providing vehicle subscriptions.

Users paid a recurring fee for the right to use a car with insurance, maintenance, tax, MOT and breakdown coverage, and could swap vehicles during the subscription or to cancel their subscriptions outright.[citation needed]

## History

[edit]

Drover was founded in late 2015 by Felix Leuschner, previously CEO of a fashion platform Sylistpick and virtual goods market Gamegoods,[1] and Matt Varughese. They had observed that most of the innovation in the mobility space had been focused on how to get from A to B but that very little had been done around car ownership itself.[2]

In March 2018, Drover received funding of £5.5m from investors including BP Ventures, Partech Ventures and Cherry Ventures. This was on top of a £2m pre-seed investment.[3]

In April 2018, Drover partnered with BMW Group to provide BMW and Mini vehicles on the platform.[4][5]

In December 2020, Drover announced that they were being acquired by Cazoo.[6]

In June 2022, Cazoo announced the closure of their 'cash intensive' car subscription services as part of a cost cutting plan.[7]

## Service

[edit]

Drover did not own any cars, but provided a marketplace for vehicle subscriptions.[8][9] Users pay a monthly fee for a car, including insurance, breakdown cover, maintenance tax and MOT. There are no long term commitments so users can swap, upgrade, downgrade or cancel their subscriptions.[10] Felix Leuschner, CEO, claims that by providing a more seamless, online and all-inclusive experience, Drover will be able to improve the typical car purchasing experience.[11][12]

In 2018, some industry experts had predicted that the rise of autonomous vehicles will see traditional finance methods superseded by subscription services.[13][14]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Clawson, Trevor. "Want A New BMW? A UK Startup Says You Should Subscribe Rather Than Buy". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
2. ^ "UK car subscription company Drover rides off with funding - PE Hub". PE Hub. 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
3. ^ "Drover gets £5.5m for its online car marketplace". UKTN (UK Tech News). 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
4. ^ "Drover and BMW announce mobility partnership". www.fleetnews.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
5. ^ "BMW Group to offer cars on subscription basis with Drover - Car Dealer Magazine". Car Dealer Magazine. 2018-04-11. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
6. ^ Tucker, Charlotte (2020-12-17). "British used-car startup Cazoo to acquire Drover, a leading car subscription service". EU-Startups. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
7. ^ "In detail: Cazoo founder lays out savage cuts to online used car dealer in investor call". Retrieved 2022-10-18.
8. ^ "The Future of Cars: Are flying vehicles just a sci-fi fantasy?". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
9. ^ "Drover picks up £5.5M funding for its car subscription marketplace ñ TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
10. ^ "BMW and Mini enter car subscription sector". Fleet World. 2018-04-10. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
11. ^ "One in ten drivers may choose Netflix-style car subscription within decade". Sunday Times Driving. 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
12. ^ Car Subscription Brisbane
13. ^ "BMW and Mini launch pay-as-you-go subscription service | Autocar". www.autocar.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
14. ^ "Karmo".