Ex-Porsche Cars GB CEO attracts £1m investment to new CarCloud platform

Former Porsche Cars GB chief executive Geoff Turral expects 150,000 motorists engage with his new CarCloud platform before the end of 2022.

The platform helps drivers manage their vehicle maintainence, MOT, road tax and insurance, as well as offering a valuation service, and has already attracted over £1 million in investment.

Turral said: “We’re thrilled to have reached our £1m investment milestone. The cost of living crisis is here to stay and we are passionate about the role CarCloud plays in helping people to manage their second biggest investment, after the home. The equity in our cars is a real asset and we want to have the customer’s back in terms of maximising that.

“While we’re delighted to see ever-increasing download numbers, the retention of users, with a churn rate of just 3% compared to an industry average of 43%, is evidence that people see the unique value in the platform.

CarCloud was founded by Turral and retail automotive entrepreneur Paul Jewell and enables users to programme vehicle reminders and store important documents in the cloud, reducing the risk of not having an MOT and eliminating unnecessary filing.

The platform can also be used to check the value of vehicles, with 18,000 searches undertaken in June alone, renegotiate finance payments and search for the best available insurance premiums.

So far, CarCloud has amassed 36,000 users, with 44,000 cars being managed online.

Turral said: “This is just the beginning for CarCloud. We have a number of significant updates planned, as we look to deepen the offer and expand into new markets. Our priority is to offer an agnostic capability that allows the consumer to take full control of the administration of their car via the cloud.”

Cars aged three years and older are “absolutely crucial and could determine continued viability of dealer aftersales operations”, according to SecretService.

In view of the well documented yet growing vehicle shortfall challenges, the franchised dealer aftersales marketplace recommends that dealers focus on driving conquest bookings from owners of segment 2 vehicles (aged 3-6 years), while optimising customer retention and attracting more MOT work.