MotorK will aim to drive change in the online new car sales arena with expansion in the UK market after announcing an £8 million round of initial funding.

Led by 83North (formerly Greylock IL), a global venture capital firm with more than £440 million under management, the funding round includes contributions from Zobito, a Swedish private equity and venture capital firm focused on the enterprise software field.

Founded in late 2010, MotorK claims to be a partner to more than 90% of car brands in the European marketplace and delivers retail-led web sites to manufacturers and dealer groups.

With triple-digit growth year on year, the business has expanded into all major European markets including Italy, Spain, France, Germany and the UK, where it is preparing to hire staff for its new London offices.

Its broad range of products and services include the online marketplace DriveK, a SaaS platform for car dealers called DealerK, and Internet Motors, a digital automotive event network in EMEA which aims to educate and inform on technology trends and platforms.

Additionally MotorK’s book “The DealerK method”, an operating manual for the digital dealership, has now been published in five different languages and had over 10,000 copies.

The funding will be used to bolster MotorK’s international team and support significant worldwide expansion as the company continues to impact an industry worth £80 billion in Europe alone.

Marco Marlia, MotorK’s founder and chief executive, said: “With global cars sales continuing its YoY growth, we see ahead of us a multi-billion-dollar opportunity to help consumers make better choices and to help car manufacturers sell more cars by providing them with cutting edge digital tools.

“With the announcement of this historical funding round for an Italian company from some of Europe’s best funds, we believe we are set to continue our growth and help the car eco-system as it transitions into the digital 21 century.”

MotorK took the funding round as an opportunity to announce the addition of five new board members: Laurel Bowden and Arnon Dinur, partners at 83North, Måns Hultman and Magnus Lindhe, partners at Zobito, and Mauro Pretolani, an Italian investor and advisor.

Laurel Bowden, partner at 83North, said, “Today’s announcement is a reflection of our commitment to supporting top talent in the European tech sector as we seek to add value to entrepreneurs with our extensive network and experience of high growth companies.

“We share a common operating philosophy and we look forward to collaborating with the MotorK team.”

Måns Hultman, partner at Zobito, said, “The automotive industry is ripe for disruption and MotorK has proven over the past few years of operation that they have the skills and know-how to do that globally.

“We’re delighted to assist them on their journey and look forward to the continuing positive impact they are creating on the industry as a whole.”