Online car trading: mobile.de is allowed to take over Carwow

The parent company of the vehicle portal mobile.de, Oak Germany Buyer GmbH, may acquire the German business of the Carwow platform. The Federal Cartel Office approved the project, according to a statement. The transaction was previously subject to official approval.

The companies' activities largely complemented each other and only overlapped to a small extent, the cartel office said. The core business of mobile.de is the brokering of used cars from dealers to private buyers, while Carwow focuses on new cars. Customers can configure vehicles from different brands there and receive offers. Both portals also offer the arrangement of leasing contracts for vehicles.

Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt said: "mobile.de has a strong market position, particularly when it comes to brokering used cars. However, this will not be significantly strengthened by the takeover of Carwow." In addition, mobile.de faces a strong competitor in AutoScout24. “We were therefore able to approve the project,” said Mundt. The British company Carwow is based in London.