London auto fintech startup expands to Europe after raising £9m in Series A funding round

London based auto fintech startup Bumper has raised $12m (approximately £9m) in Series A funding to roll out its car repair financing platform across Europe.

The round is led by Silicon Valley based Autotech Ventures, with participation from Jaguar Land Rover’s fund InMotion Ventures, and a group of prominent angel investors. The latest round brings total funds raised by the company to $17.5m (approximately £13.2m).

Bumper enables customers to spread the cost of car repairs by offering “interest-free, flexible payments” to help drivers better manage the cost of necessary repairs and maintenance.

With new car purchases currently at their lowest since 1998, there is a burgeoning used car market with a growing need for financing repairs on older vehicles. This is reflected in the European aftersales market, which is projected to hit €300bn (approximately £255bn) by 2030.

Alongside the consumer offering, Bumper partners with OEMs including Volkswagen Group, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, and Nissan, with approximately 60 per cent of the franchised UK dealer market currently using Bumper’s payment platform.

Bumper is currently rolling out its product in Germany, with plans to launch in Spain and the Netherlands in the next three months, and has ambitions to be in “every major European market” by the end of 2022.

Plans are also in the pipeline for the widespread launch of a consumer app, which will act as a “one stop shop for all automotive requirements”, such as payments for congestion charges, parking and tolls, and approving repair work. The app is due to launch in the UK in January 2022.

James Jackson, CEO and co-founder, Bumper said: “The current process for handling car repairs is broken on both sides, with dealerships selling just 40% of identified repairs and drivers left out of pocket and with dangerous vehicles.

“Bumper offers a simple alternative to unexpected car repairs. It’s a very different proposition to other Buy Now Pay Later services, as we’re not encouraging people to buy things they don’t need, we’re enabling them to purchase necessary repairs at an affordable rate.

“We’ve seen huge demand for expanding the services we offer, and are looking forward to bringing Bumper to customers across Europe.”

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