carVertical among the fastest-growing European companies in 2022 – what's next?

2022 was a struggle for many: high inflation, rising interest rates, the war in Ukraine – all these factors made life difficult for individuals and businesses alike. Including carVertical! Yet despite the challenges, 2022 saw us hit a revenue record of €23.3 million, up 30% from the €17.7 million in 2021.

Our stellar performance in the face of global calamities didn't go unnoticed: a couple of weeks ago, carVertical placed 26th on The Financial Times' FT1000 list of the fastest growing European companies.

That's quite an achievement, even if it is bittersweet: carVertical could’ve really gone sky-high if it weren't for the significant impact global events had on used vehicle markets in Europe and beyond.

Fortunately, while second-hand markets are still slow, the pace should pick up by the end of the year. And in the meantime, let's take a moment to review what we did last year and the huge plans in stock for 2023!

Tough times call for optimization

In the beginning of 2022, crisis and recession seemed all but inevitable. It was time to optimize, and so we set out to focus more on improving services and cleaning up our internal organization.

In 2022, we added new data sources and crossed an important threshold: our vehicle history reports now draw information from 900+ data sources belonging to insurance companies, national registries, law enforcement agencies, and other entities. Some of the data sources we gained access to we didn't even know existed or think could be integrated into carVertical.

All of this has allowed us to reach new customer segments, including the massive base of motorcycle fans. Even more importantly, new data has strengthened our standing in the B2B sphere, which was crucial for success in a challenging year. Our share of B2B sales grew by 79% over the year, showing great future potential.

Aside from motorcycles and B2B, last year, we also took big strides in Western Europe markets. Sales grew most significantly in the UK (180%), Italy (166%), Denmark (148%), and Finland (115%).

We've hit our 100-employee milestone!

A successful financial year and ambitious future plans have meant lots of new hires. carVertical grew from 36 employees in 2021, to 76 in 2022, to over 100 now – and counting. Growing at such a pace has been challenging, particularly with a continuing focus on long-term hires.

Additionally, while having such a wealth of new and talented colleagues is always fun, it has called for changes in internal practices, processes, and structures. As such, last year has been a time of tidying up internally to prepare for big things to come. We've restructured our teams and implemented new tools, ensuring our business is nimble and efficient.

carVertical is no longer a 30-people start-up with 30-people ambitions! In 2023, we're ready to really shake things up.

Revealing a better carVertical for 2023 (and beyond)

To gain a better understanding of second-hand vehicle markets throughout Europe, in 2022 we conducted a large-scale survey of our customers' needs and motivations. We asked why you use vehicle history reports, what you like about our service, how you see the used vehicle market in your country, and how you buy second-hand cars.

The results were truly eye-opening: your answers clearly demonstrated that carVertical customers in Poland, Romania, or our native Lithuania are very different from those in the UK, France, or Spain. In 2023, we want to thank you for these insights the best way we know how – by making carVertical a better and more accessible service for everyone!

Making friends with your mom, dad, and British uncle: carVertical to be more accessible in 2023

While our current report was built with ease of use in mind, there's still much to improve. Therefore, over the next couple of months, we will introduce a new and improved carVertical vehicle history report, code name V3. In addition to being more intuitive, it will allow us to provide new types of information, making the report not only more useful, but also more interesting.

This new report will lead the charge in a larger, more comprehensive effort to make the used car market a friendlier place for everyone – not just gearheads rebuilding vintage classics in their garage or dealerships trying to maximize their profits, but also students buying a cool first coupe, moms and dads looking to sell their old trusty town car, or even grandparents preparing a surprise birthday gift.

But buying and selling isn't all that carVertical can be for you. Once you've bought your used vehicle, we want to help you take care of it.

Sharing our automotive tips and tricks in the new carVertical Blog

Over 2022, we've redesigned our Blog – soon it will house tons of content about buying, selling, and maintaining vehicles, complete with video guides and other helpful material.

We're currently working on a lot of expert-driven content, which will help guide readers through the entire vehicle-ownership journey:

• Choosing and buying a used vehicle
• Ownership and maintenance tips
• Selling a vehicle

Too many online articles about cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles are needlessly complicated. As with everything we do, our goal is to make buying, maintaining, and selling cars easier for everyone.

Let's meet in 2024 to see how we did!