Cazoo app and website to be restored after Motors scoops up brand

Motors said it had acquired the brand and revealed plans to launch a new Cazoo app and website.

Online car retailer Cazoo has announced it will be closing down its used car markets across Europe resulting in job cuts for around 750 staff (PA)

Secondhand car site Motors is set to restore the Cazoo brand after the rival marketplace collapsed into administration last month, following a drastic restructuring which saw it shed hundreds of jobs.

Motors said it had acquired the brand and revealed plans to launch a new Cazoo app and website.

Cazoo, which was once valued at around £5 billion, appointed administrators in May after sinking into financial difficulty.

Despite its challenges as a business, Cazoo has undoubtedly become a household name with car buyers

Barry Judge, Motors chief executive

It cut more than 700 jobs since March as part of sweeping cost-cutting measures.

It was founded in the UK in 2018 by entrepreneur Alex Chesterman, also the founder of property portal Zoopla.

Barry Judge, the chief executive of Motors, said: “Despite its challenges as a business, Cazoo has undoubtedly become a household name with car buyers.

“We have the expertise and inventory to immediately establish the new Cazoo site as a modern marketplace for used cars.”

Motors said it was planning to launch the new app, followed by the website, over the coming weeks.

It is set to have more than 250,000 secondhand car listings.

Currently, visitors to the Cazoo website are automatically redirected to Motors to shop for cars.

Motors, a platform connecting car buyers and dealers, said its own website would continue to run as normal and through its network of sites, including marketplaces eBay and Gumtree.

Its dealer partners will be able to start listing cars on Cazoo, which benefits from being a well-known brand, it said.