RALEIGH — Joydrive, a Raleigh-based online marketplace for new and used cars, recently surpassed 12,000 vehicles in inventory, outpacing competitor Carvana which recently received a $6 billion valuation.
The marketplace is different from other existing car-buying websites, said Hunter Gorham, founder and CEO, in an interview. “We are the only marketplace that a customer can buy a new or used car without having to go to a dealership,” he said.
Gorham founded Joydrive in Raleigh after 14 years in the auto financing industry at Ally Financial. He and his team first beta tested their marketplace in late 2016 and early 2017 in Seattle, Portland, and the Pacific Northwest, and have now launched an office in Seattle and recently in Dallas, as the company expands nationally.
Hunter Gorham, founder, CEO of Joydrive. Joydrive photo.
To grow, the company has taken financing from strategic investors, said Gorham, “that bring to bear operational expertise, best practices, and critical strategic relationships along with capital.”
Over the past seven months, the startup expanded operations from one dealership and 500 used vehicles to more than 50 dealerships nationwide with a total of 12,000 new and used vehicles listed in their proprietary marketplace.
Full-service delivery—a full buying experience with no dealership visit
Joydrive offers many customers delivery in as fast as one day and follow-up service as needed, said Gorham, and plans to build its inventory and delivery system to reach every customer as quickly as possible with their purchased vehicle.
Purchasing on the Joydrive platform does not even require a visit to a dealership, which is a critical differentiator for the startup, said Gorham. “It creates a fully-online, consistent buying experience across different brands and products.”
Customers purchasing a vehicle can coordinate the delivery date and time with the licensed dealer representatives, which keep vehicles in inventory on vehicle lots at the dealerships that have been vetted and selected as partners on the platform.
“Everyone else that is trying to solve cars online and change the buying experience,” said Gorham, “has made the decision to eliminate the dealer, to circumvent the dealer.” Joydrive has a different approach, said Gorham, “a critical distinction in our model.” The company partners with dealerships—not all dealers, just ones that have completed a robust vetting process—and focuses on helping dealers better serve customers on a marketplace that makes sense for all parties, said Gorham.
With an estimated 18,000 car dealerships in the United States—in a naturally fragmented industry—Joydrive aims to bring dealers and buyers together on their platform. “We think that is cool,” said Gorham.
