BMW i Ventures, the investment arm of car manufacturer BMW, invests in European online car repairer Caroobi. Caroobi focuses on simplifying and improving customers' after-sales experience.
Caroobi currently operates exclusively in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. 400 certified bodyshops from these countries have joined the platform. Caroobi customers can book an appointment with these companies via the Caroobi website to have damage to their vehicle repaired.
Streamlining damage repair
The platform aims to streamline the handling of vehicle damage as much as possible. For example, customers do not have to travel to a bodyshop to have the damage to their vehicle recorded, but can have it assessed online by a Caroobi damage expert. Caroobi claims to be able to correctly diagnose the problem remotely in 80% of cases, regardless of the make or model of the vehicle.
Based on this assessment, a fixed price is set at which Caroobi's partners can carry out the repair. With this, the platform aims to avoid unexpected costs for customers. In the unlikely event that additional repairs need to be carried out that affect the price, the customer is contacted first.
Once the damage has been identified and the necessary repairs mapped out, customers can book an appointment online at one of the bodyshops affiliated with the platform. Customers can choose to deliver their vehicle to the bodyshop themselves, or have their car picked up and delivered back home by a Caroobi partner.
Lower prices
Caroobi also claims to be able to offer lower prices than independent bodyshops. According to the company, this is possible thanks to the large quantity of parts it buys for its partners, which results in a lower average purchase price of parts. Caroobi passes this advantage on to the customer. In addition, administrative tasks that bodyshops usually perform themselves are centralised by Caroobi, which saves time and money.
Besides BMW i Ventures, investment companies DN Capital and Cherry Ventures are also putting money into Caroobi. Exactly how much the three parties are investing has not been disclosed, although DN Capital does indicate that millions of euros are involved. The money made available to Caroobi will be used to improve the online booking process, among other things, and also to refine the remote diagnosis of problems. Caroobi also aims to further develop the software used by partners and expand its employee base from 60 to 100 employees by the end of 2017.
Netherlands
It is not known whether Caroobi has plans to operate in the Netherlands as well. In the Netherlands, by the way, 123autoschade.nl has been operating since the beginning of 2016. This platform allows Dutch customers to request damage repair quotes from 150 affiliated damage repair companies. Here, customers provide some additional data besides their registration number and send four photos along. On this basis, companies affiliated with 123autoschade.nl assess the damage to the vehicle and provide a quote for its repair. After 24 hours, the customer can then decide whether and which offer to accept.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: Caroobi
Source: BMW Group
Source: DN Capital
Source: 123autoschade.nl
