AUTODOC celebrates its 15th anniversary. The success story continues

AUTODOC reaches its 15-year milestone, continuing its success journey

Berlin, 20 June 2023 – AUTODOC, a leading online retailer for car parts and accessories in Europe, celebrated its 15th anniversary last weekend with around 800 employees in Berlin. Since May, the online giant has been hosting events for its staff at various company locations, such as in Moldova, Portugal, Poland and Ukraine. More than 5,000 people now work for the company in eight countries.

For 15 years now, customers have been relying on the Berlin-based company for their vehicle repairs. The success story began in 2008 when one of the founders realised that he had to pay high prices in garages for even minor repairs. The business idea was born: online trade in car parts, cutting out the middleman and so offering significantly lower prices. With the vision of making the market for car spare parts transparent, sustainable, and affordable and giving customers the opportunity to take their vehicle repairs into their own hands, the three friends and business partners Alexej Erdle, Vitalij Kungel, and Max Wegner founded the company AUTODOC. Sales have been growing ever since.

From a Berlin startup to a European player

A lot has happened since the company was founded. Starting off in a small office in the Berlin district of Weissensee 15 years ago, the now medium-sized company today employs around 5,000 people in eight countries and is present in 27 European markets. In 2021, the magic sales mark of one billion euros was achieved – a great success, which is mainly down to AUTODOC’s customers. Because since 2008, over 18.5 million customers have placed their trust in AUTODOC and in 2022 alone 12.7 million orders were placed.

„It’s impressive to see how AUTODOC has grown steadily and developed purposefully over the years to become a market leader in its industry,“ says Sandra Dax, Co-CEO at AUTODOC since October 2022. „We now have eight locations across Europe and are delighted with this year‘s new sites in Luxembourg, Portugal, and the Czech Republic.“ In addition to opening a new location in Luxembourg and the tech hub in Lisbon in May, AUTODOC will also inaugurate the „C27“ logistics centre in Cheb, Czech Republic, this year, reflecting the Berlin-based company‘s expansion strategy.

Growth, know-how, and customer satisfaction

Since the company’s foundation, the average annual turnover growth rate has been 108 percent. And despite the difficult circumstances of the past year, the company was able to continue its growth trajectory in 2022. The fact that customer satisfaction never falls by the wayside in the face of these ambitions is proven by the consistently low returns rate of seven percent with around 35,000 orders daily. The company now offers more than 5.2 million products from 1,800 brand manufacturers and, in its more than 18,000 free PDF instructions and 3,500 YouTube videos, shows how easy and convenient DIY vehicle repairs can be – regardless of how much money, time or prior knowledge you have.

„The founding idea was to offer our customers affordable alternatives to the conventional repair market and give them more freedom when it comes to vehicle repair. In the past 15 years, our amazing employees have used their know-how and dedication to implement this vision and make our company what it is today,“ says Alexej Erdle, co-founder of AUTODOC. „Whether it’s products from brand manufacturers or our own brands, for cars or motorbikes, in Germany, France, Spain, Scandinavia, or other countries in Europe, offering customers the best service is always our top priority.“