Cazoo History
Cazoo was founded by British entrepreneur Alex Chesterman in 2018 and launched its online used-car service in 2019. Unlike today’s marketplace, the original Cazoo bought vehicles itself, prepared them and sold them directly to consumers.
The company expanded rapidly across the UK and Europe, becoming one of the most recognisable names in online car retailing. However, the expansion proved difficult to sustain and Cazoo subsequently withdrew from several markets while restructuring the business.
In 2024, the original Cazoo business entered administration and stopped buying and selling cars. The Cazoo brand and marketplace assets were subsequently acquired by Motors.co.uk Limited.
Cazoo was relaunched as a vehicle marketplace, and in 2026 the Motors and Cazoo consumer brands were brought together under the Cazoo name — creating the marketplace that operates today.