Published on 14/12/2020

Societe Generale announces the acquisition of Reezocar

  • Societe Generale Group announces the acquisition of Reezocar, a French platform specialised in the online sale of used cars to individuals.
     
  • This new step strengthens the existing partnership and the potential for synergies with the Group’s businesses.
     
  • Reezocar will be able to offer its customers a more complete offer around the use of a recent or second-hand vehicle, in particular in financing and insurance, and to rely on the strength of Societe Generale to accelerate its development in France and internationally.
     
  • Societe Generale is pursuing its open banking strategy, focused on customer centricity, by offering ever more innovative services to bring value to its customers and partners.

Reezocar is one of the leading digital platforms in France supporting private buyers looking for a used vehicle from major European markets, including France. A motorist services platform, Reezocar offers a unique customer experience through an end-to-end digital journey, from research to vehicle delivery. The start-up, with six years of activity, offers a catalog of 7 million vehicle listings in France and Europe and records a constantly growing number of monthly visitors to its platform, from 1 million in 2018 to over 2 million today. Unlike market practices, Reezocar does not have a stock of vehicles and can therefore place itself 100% on the customer's side in its journey. By combining human and technological expertise, Reezocar offers a strong value offering that places the company among the most innovative start-ups in the automotive sector.

Two years after the acquisition of a stake by CGI Finance, a subsidiary of Societe Generale and # 1 among independent car dealers, this new step accelerates the existing partnership and the potential for synergies with the Group's businesses.

This transaction will allow Reezocar to further enrich its service offering, particularly in the insurance sector, by accessing innovative solutions from Societe Generale Assurances, which Reezocar is keen to integrate into its model.

Reezocar will be able to rely on the strength of the Societe Generale Group to accelerate its development in France and internationally and to pursue commercial partnerships with the Group's businesses.

This transaction further reflects Societe Generale Group's ability to support the profound changes in automotive and financial services consumption, to offer ever more innovative services to its customers and to bring value to its partners and their customers.

Societe Generale, first French bank to have acquired a FinTech in 2015 with Fiducéo, and more recently with Shine and Treezor, confirms with the acquisition of Reezocar its major role within the ecosystem and its ability to collaborate with startups.

For Claire Calmejane, Chief Innovation Officer of Societe Generale Group: “Reezocar’s platform business model, its innovative positioning and the quality of its offer appealed to us because it strengthens our customer relationship promise. Synergies with our different businesses are numerous and allow us to go further in our Open Banking strategy.”

“Reezocar’s mission is to simplify, secure and streamline the customer journey in order to offer the best possible shopping experience. We are proud to join Societe Generale Group and to pool our know-how to continue our development. Tristan Pillon together with us and the whole Reezocar team are committed in this new stage in our history. Our ambition is to provide our customers with an enhanced offer and to continue our strong growth”, explain Laurent Potel, co-founder and CEO, and Vincent Deboeuf co-founder and CTO, of Reezocar.

The transaction will not have a significant impact on the Societe Generale Group’s CET1 ratio.

Press contacts:
Astrid Fould Bacquart - +33 1 56 37 67 95 -  Astrid Fould-Bacquart@socgen.com
Victoire de Brebisson - +33 6 51 17 14 50 -  reezocar@image7.fr