Cox Automotive is planning to acquire pkwNOW, a leading dealer-to-dealer (D2D) online auction platform in Germany.

Cox said the acquisition is another step towards realising its growth plans within Europe

Headquartered in Lüdenscheid, pkwNOW covers dealer and export vehicles, lease returns and fleet vehicles.

Cox said the acquisition would help it to scale its remarketing capability in Germany as well as increasing the volume of cars sold every year. It will also help improve Cox Automotive’s digital customer offering in Germany – the business has recently launched an artificial intelligence capability in its Manheim Express application.

Martin Forbes, president of Cox Automotive International, said: “PkwNOW is a business in Germany that we have admired for some time, with clear synergies between their services and those within our Manheim Express digital auction portfolio. In acquiring additional German market expertise from pkwNOW, we plan to combine this with our innovative digital-first roadmap to truly transform the vehicle auctions business throughout Germany and Continental Europe.”

PkwNOW’s CEO Rick Cebulla will continue to lead the business and Cox added that the acquisition is another step towards realising its growth plans within Europe.

Sebastian Fuchs, managing director of Manheim Express, added: “We have ambitious growth plans for Cox Automotive to become a major player in markets such as France, Spain and Italy. We hope to see Manheim Express trading over 100,000 cars by 2023, with similar growth aspirations for the other brands in our portfolio. The acquisition of pkwNOW and the footprint into Germany that this now gives us is a key step towards realising our growth ambitions.”