Deutsche Bank, Allianz and Auto1 to Launch Blockchain Car Financing Platform
The largest car buyer in Europe, Auto1 has partnered with Deutsche Bank and Allianz, Europe’s largest insurance group, to create a blockchain car financing platform entitled ‘Auto1 Fintech’.
Collectively owning more than fifty percent, the three German companies have created ‘Auto1 Fintech’ with the aim of offering financing and insurance products to automobile dealerships buying and selling used vehicles via Auto1 using blockchain technology.
Auto1 acts as an online exchange for used cars, buying vehicles from individuals and selling them to dealerships. Earlier this year, SoftBank’s Vision Fund invested 460 million euros ($540m) in the company, valuing the it at 2.9 billion euros ($3.4bn).
Catering exclusively to the commercial used vehicle market, Auto1 works with 45,000 dealers across 30 countries in Europe, generating a turnover of 1.5 billion euros per year. Employing 2,800 people, around 3,000 vehicles change hands every day via its online platform.
Head of global markets for Deutsche Bank, Stefan Hoops, stated:
“By providing automobile dealerships with financing via a digital platform, we free up capital that would otherwise be tied up in equity.
Currently, the loan payment and refinancing confirmations can take over two weeks. Utilising blockchain, this process will be recorded on a blockchain instantly, thus allowing dealerships to immediately refinance their purchases.
Auto1 hopes that the new blockchain platform will not only promote customer loyalty, but also enable them to sell more, much like PayPal’s instant purchase helped boost transaction volumes on EBay, co-CEO, Hakan Koc added:
“We are freeing capital and our customers are more liquid as a result. It’s a win-win.”
The move is part of Auto1’s drive to diversify its offerings, as it aims to become the dominant digital platform for used automobiles. Currently operating in Germany, it has plans to expand to France and Poland later this year.
Blockchain technology is set impact the automotive industry in various areas, there continues to be numerous trials, such as with Audi and Batavia, a supply-chain platform, which in April completed its first ‘live-pilot’ Audi blockchain shipment from Germany to Spain.
As per a previous BCTech Report, the world’s largest automakers BMW, GM and Ford created MOBI (Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative), with 30 members such as IBM and Hyperledger, and an advisory board that includes Joseph Lubin a founder of Ethereum and ConsenSys to focus on blockchain for cars.
