9:41
hey.car
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hey.car

6 technologies
VerifiedVisit5.3K/mo$83M2286 Tech
Deep Dive

The Car Marketplace That Just Parked Itself

A German startup with 228 employees and $82M in revenue just announced it's shutting down. Here's what went wrong.

In the brutal world of automotive marketplaces, heycar was supposed to be Germany's answer to AutoTrader. But in early 2024, they announced they're shutting down permanently. This isn't just another startup failure—it's a masterclass in how even well-funded ventures can get the product-market fit wrong.

$82.8M
annual revenue
228
employees
5,300
monthly visits
4.4/5
trustpilot rating

"heycar had the funding, the team, and the tech stack—but they never found their audience."

The Traffic Paradox

With just 5,300 monthly visits and a global rank of #3.5M, heycar's traffic numbers are shockingly low for a company with 228 employees and $82M in revenue. Compare this to successful automotive marketplaces that typically see millions of monthly visitors. The data suggests a fundamental disconnect: either their marketing failed to scale, or their product didn't retain users. Interestingly, 96.9% of their traffic came from 'undefined' countries—likely a data tracking issue that points to deeper operational problems.

The Keyword Strategy That Backfired

heycar's top organic keywords reveal a critical strategic flaw. Instead of dominating branded terms or niche automotive searches, they ranked for generic giants like 'dodge' (174K monthly searches) and 'bmw x7' (92K searches). This is SEO suicide for a marketplace—competing against manufacturer sites and global aggregators on broad terms while neglecting long-tail, transactional keywords that actually drive car sales. Their own brand 'heycar' only generated 3,590 monthly searches, indicating weak brand recall in a crowded market.

The technical stack was solid—Next.js, AWS, CloudFront, and PWA capabilities. But technology alone doesn't build a marketplace. The real challenge is network effects: attracting enough buyers to keep sellers engaged, and enough sellers to give buyers choice. heycar's traffic data suggests they never achieved this flywheel. With 58% organic and 30% direct traffic, they weren't getting the referral growth that successful marketplaces depend on.

  • Revenue-to-employee ratio of $363K suggests high operational costs
  • Trustpilot rating of 4.4/5 indicates decent user satisfaction among those who used it
  • Top keywords show they were fighting unwinnable SEO battles
  • Low traffic despite strong funding points to marketing execution failures
Failed to build critical mass in any geography
Strong technical foundation with modern stack
Chased generic keywords instead of niche markets
Positive user reviews from existing customers
Never established brand differentiation
Achieved $82M revenue before shutdown
Traffic growth couldn't sustain 228-person team
Learned what doesn't work in automotive marketplaces

The Hard Truth About Automotive Marketplaces

Even with $82M in revenue and 228 employees, heycar couldn't crack the code. The lesson? In marketplace businesses, traffic isn't just a metric—it's oxygen. Without it, even the best tech stack and strongest team eventually run out of air.

What tech stack does Hey use?

6 detected
Performance1
Web Standards2
Frontend Frameworks1

How much traffic does Hey get?

Traffic & Engagement

5.3K
Monthly Visits
1.9
Pages/Visit
0:26
Avg. Duration
35%
Bounce Rate
Monthly Traffic Trend-50%
10.6K
Oct 2025
Oct
7.3K
Nov 2025
Nov
5.3K
Dec 2025
Dec

Traffic Sources

Search
58%
Direct
30%
Social
1%
Referrals
11%
Email
0%
Paid
1%

Where is Hey's audience located?

🌍96.9%
🌍3.1%

What keywords does Hey rank for?

5 keywords
1heycar3.6K vol$0.65
2ostermaier mühldorf580 vol$0.24
3dodge174.4K vol$1.06
4bmw x792.4K vol$0.68
5lexus nx67.9K vol$1.12

How is Hey's SEO?

Meta Tags

title19 chars

heycar sagt Tschüss

description89 chars

heycar sagt Tschüss - wir parken jetzt für immer. Danke, dass du mit uns unterwegs warst!

languageDE

Who works at Hey?

Loading leads...

What do customers think of Hey?

heycar Deutschland

heycar Deutschland

4.4
349 reviews
✓ Claimed

Categories

Motor Vehicle Dealer#7Car Dealer#7Used Car Dealer#3Auto Market#7

Activity & Engagement

Reply Rate
33.33333333333333%
Avg. Reply Time
4.0 days
Claimed Date
8/12/2021

Contact Information

Address:
Müllerstraße 153
Berlin, DE

Reviews (6)

Filter by rating:
Khawaja Irfan Rauf
12/24/2023
🇩🇪 Germany5 reviewsOrganicUnverified
Experience date: 12/23/2023
Good choice

Good choice

Abith Ramadevan
3/6/2022
🇳🇱 Netherlands2 reviewsBasicLinkVerified
Great website and not overwhelming with…

Great website and not overwhelming with information. Found a great deal, easy to call and setup an appointment

Josh Jeffries
9/15/2021
🇩🇪 Germany1 reviewsOrganicUnverified
Very smooth and clear

Very smooth and clear - I was very happy that Felix spoke with me in English as it helped me make quick decisions and understand the different leasing types in Germany. Friendly, and approachable - always happy to answer any questions I had and helped me every step of the way.

Company Response10/5/2021

Hi Josh, thanks a lot for your positive feedback! Happy to hear that you had a very pleasant experience and we wish you a safe journey at all times. Best regards your heycar team

Bhavin Thakkar
7/25/2022
🇩🇪 Germany2 reviewsOrganicUnverified
Wrong information provided during email…

Wrong information provided during email exchange. I was given information that the car has Android Auto but I received the car with very basic display. The registration process was simple and car was delivered on time.

Company Response12/13/2022

Hello Bhavin, Thank you very much for your review and excuse the late reply from our site. We are very sorry that the car didn’t correspond exactly to what you were expecting based on the provided description. We hope that otherwise you were satisfied with our service and that you’re still enjoying your car to the fullest. If you have any questions, please contact us at +49 (0) 30 2555 855 08 or [email protected] . Have a safe ride! Marie from the heycar team

Bruno Bernardo
6/6/2023
🇩🇪 Germany1 reviewsOrganicUnverified
Experience date: 6/6/2023
Schlechter Kundenservice

Englisch unten (Achtung). Ich habe eine Bestellung für ein Fahrzeug aufgegeben, die abgelehnt wurde. So weit, ist es gut. Ich habe mich für ein anderes Fahrzeug entschieden und nun ist es schon zwei Tage her, dass Heycar den Kauf noch nicht einmal bestätigt oder die Rückabwicklung vom Händler mitgeteilt hat. Detail: Das Auto ist bereits nicht verfügbar auf der website. Durch den Vertrag von Heycar bin ich zu diesem Kauf verpflichtet, da noch keine offizielle Mitteilung erfolgt ist. Sie senden eine E-Mail, Heycar antwortet nicht, Sie rufen Heycar an, sie antworten nicht. Stellen Sie sich vor, das Problem wäre schlimmer, ich habe es noch nicht einmal gekauft und sie sind unverantwortlich. I placed an order for a vehicle that was declined. So far, so good. I've decided on a different vehicle and now it's been two days since Heycar hasn't even confirmed the purchase or informed that the dealer has returned the purchase. Detail: The car is already not available on the website. The Heycar contract obliges me to this purchase, as no official notification has yet been made. You send an email, Heycar doesn't answer, you call Heycar, they don't answer. Imagine if the problem was worse, I haven't even bought it yet and they are irresponsible. PAY ATTENTION specially if you are a foreign living in Germany, they will only assist you in German.

Company Response6/7/2023

Hallo Herr Bernardo, Ihre schlechte Erfahrung mit heycar tut uns leid. Wie gewünscht wurde der bestellte Audi A1 storniert. Wir haben gestern erfolglos versucht Sie telefonisch zu erreichen, um eventuelle Fragen zu beantworten. Unser Kundenservice bleibt natürlich weiterhin per Telefon und E-mail für sie erreichbar ([email protected] oder 030 - 25 55 855 98). Viele grüße und alles Gute, Marie vom heycar Team Hello Mr Bernardo, We are sorry for your bad experience with heycar. As requested, the Audi A1 you ordered has been cancelled. We tried unsuccessfully to reach you by phone yesterday to answer any questions you might have. Of course, you can still reach our customer service by phone and e-mail ([email protected] or 030 - 25 55 855 98). Many greetings and all the best, Marie from the heycar team

Frequently Asked Questions about Hey

What is Hey's Revenue?
Hey generates approximately $83M in annual revenue. With 228 employees, that's $363,000 per employee.
What does Hey do?
heycar sagt Tschüss - wir parken jetzt für immer. Danke, dass du mit uns unterwegs warst!
How fast is Hey growing?
Hey employee count has changed by -25% year over year.
What technologies does Hey use?
Hey uses 6 technologies across their website including Cloud & Hosting, Performance, Web Standards. Key technologies include Amazon Web Services, AWS CloudFront, Priority Hints, Twitter Cards, PWA.
Who are Hey's competitors?
Hey's main competitors include VadoTech Deutschland GmbH, AKASOL, Tagueri AG, Lotus Tech Innovation Centre GmbH, MotionLab.Berlin. These companies operate in similar markets and compete for the same customer base.
What do customers think of Hey?
Hey has a Trustpilot score of 4.4 out of 5 (4 stars) based on 349 customer reviews.

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About hey.car

heycar sagt Tschüss - wir parken jetzt für immer. Danke, dass du mit uns unterwegs warst!

Company Overview

hey.car
Website
vehicles
Industry
#3,502,275
Global Rank
5.3K
Monthly Visitors
6
Technologies

Technology Stack

hey.car uses 6 technologies across their website including Amazon Web Services, AWS CloudFront, Priority Hints, Twitter Cards, PWA, and more.

Cloud & Hosting

Amazon Web Services, AWS CloudFront

Performance

Priority Hints

Web Standards

Twitter Cards, PWA

Frontend Frameworks

Next.js

Traffic & Audience

5.3K
Monthly Visits
35%
Bounce Rate
1.9
Pages/Visit
0:26
Avg. Duration

hey.car receives approximately 5.3K monthly visitors and ranks #3,502,275 globally. The website has a bounce rate of 35% with visitors viewing an average of 1.9 pages per visit. Users spend an average of 0:26 on the site.

The majority of hey.car's traffic comes from undefined, .

Frequently Asked Questions

What is hey.car?
heycar sagt Tschüss - wir parken jetzt für immer. Danke, dass du mit uns unterwegs warst!
What technologies does hey.car use?
hey.car uses 6 technologies including Amazon Web Services, AWS CloudFront, Priority Hints. View the full tech stack analysis above.
How popular is hey.car?
hey.car receives approximately 5.3K monthly visitors and ranks #3,502,275 globally. Traffic is declining by 27.6% month-over-month.

Related Searches

hey.car pricinghey.car reviewshey.car alternativeshey.car loginhey.car careerswhat is hey.carhey.car tech stackhey.car contacthey.car vs competitorshey.car featureshow to use hey.carhey.car integrations

This page provides publicly available information about hey.car. Data is collected from various public sources and may not always be up to date. For the most accurate information, please visit hey.car directly at https://hey.car.