How Brisbane entrepreneur Matt Wright drove Cars4Us to a $120 million sale in six years

Wright, who came to Australia from the UK as a young adult, scaled Cars4Us at a rapid pace. When he founded the company in 2019, it consisted of only four people and a warehouse that held seven cars.

Now, Cars4Us has a 200-employee team, and the company’s 1000-car warehouse (the largest on the east coast of Australia) is almost always close to capacity. It pulls in around $500 million per year in revenue.

From the company’s very beginnings, Wright had an unwavering focus on growth. It didn’t take long for the company to outgrow its humble seven-car warehouse. 

“When we started, the largest online car buying company was buying 60 or 70 cars a week. We got there within 60 days,” the 33-year-old says. “Fast forward to today, six years later, we buy, realistically, 400 to 450 vehicles a week.”

Cars4Us has two stores located in Queensland, and its main warehouse is in Brisbane. However, it both purchases and delivers vehicles across the country.

How Cars4Us grew so fast

A large part of the company’s success comes down to its diversified business model.

Cars4Us works with consumers who purchase used cars directly, but it also does business with dealerships (B2B). Each month, the company wholesales more than 1000 used vehicles to dealerships across Australia and sells about 500 cars direct to the public. 

The company also offers vehicles for just about every budget. Wright says that prices range from $5000 to $500,000.

When starting Cars4Us, Wright aimed to streamline the process of shopping for used cars and trading in older vehicles. He points out that for many people, used-car shopping involves going back and forth between multiple dealerships.

However, the customer’s experience on the lot is just part of the picture. Today, many people who are buying cars want to be able to complete most (or all) of the process online, which is why the company allows customers to search the extensive inventory on its website. 

If a consumer sees a vehicle they want to test drive, they can immediately reserve it for 48 hours by paying a refundable $500 deposit. There’s no need to rush to the warehouse to buy the car before someone else does. Cars4Us also enables transactions to be facilitated entirely online.

Making financing and trade-ins simple

For those looking to buy used cars, finding affordable financing can be a challenge. Cars4Us simplifies the process by partnering with a number of financing providers and giving customers the opportunity to get same-day financing quotes right on the website.

The trade-in process is similarly straightforward. It typically offers customers more for their trade-in than traditional dealerships. If a customer isn’t looking to purchase a new car, Cars4Us will still buy their vehicle in cash.

Same-day payment and next-business-day vehicle pickup make the process among the fastest in the industry.

The next phase post-sale

Wright’s work ethic was also a critical factor in the company’s success story. He’s routinely worked 80- and 100-hour weeks from the beginning. “Workload, I would say, has never really changed,” he says.

Although Wright just sold MCT Automotive Group (the group that owns Cars4Us) for an enormous sum, he doesn’t see his workload decreasing in the near future.

The Cars4Us team, which consists of roughly 200 employees, will be retained through the ownership change, and Wright will stay on with the company for a couple of years to assist with the transition.

Wright says he intends to start and grow more businesses in the future. But for now, he’s keeping his focus on supporting the used-car empire that put his name on the map.

“I’m excited to be able to stay and help steer the business over the next couple of years,” he says. “Regardless of selling it, I want nothing more than to see the company reach its potential.”