CarShop goes global and partners with Team Penske NASCAR

We're delighted to be announcing our partnership with Team Penske’s reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) Champion, Austin Cindric, and the No.22 Ford Mustang team for the 2021 NXS season. This follows our recent announcement about our CarShop brand being rolled out overseas, through the rebranding of Penske Automotive’s US CarSense operation.

We're aiming to build on our successful track record of motorsports sponsorship over here, in the UK. For example, in the last six years alone, we've been a key supporter of the Laser Tools Racing Team in the British Touring Car Championships (BTCC), including its drivers Ashley Sutton, Aidan Moffat and Carl Boardley.

This move into the US arena of motorsports kicked off with last weekend’s NXS race at Phoenix Raceway in the USA, where CarShop was featured as the lead sponsor of the No. 22 Ford. A huge success, the race saw Austin Cindric and the No. 22 CarShop team dominating, leading 119 laps, and securing the race victory.

The news of CarShop waving its recognisable brand flags in a new continent provides an exciting backdrop to this motorsports announcement, as Penske Automotive rebrands its US CarSense stores to CarShop with the plans of emulating its successful UK retail operation. Penske Automotive also has plans to expand its used car store SuperCentre locations from 17 to 40 by 2023, worldwide.

The CarShop brand, which was set up in Northampton in 1999, has continued to flourish since being acquired by Penske Automotive in 2017 and becoming part of its global operation. Our flagship Nottingham store opened in early December, another is on its way, and more are set to open in the months and years that follow.

This success has been in-part due to our huge investment in its online services during a year where shopping in-store hasn’t been as possible. For example, we recently launched a Buy & Finance Online service that enables customers to fulfil the whole payment element of the process from their home or mobile device– whether that’s through a full finance application, getting a guaranteed part-exchange valuation or paying in full using a credit or debit card.

Customers can then opt for either Click & Collect from their local store, which involves the fantastic feeling of driving it away from the forecourt, or home delivery, where the new car is delivered right to their front door. We've also made a number of other changes that benefit the customer, such as scrapping our Store Transfer Fee so that there is now no customer cost for a car to be moved from one store to another and replacing our 7-Day Exchange Policy with a 14-Day Money-Back guarantee.

And the new US CarShop presence is on course to be similarly successful, with the move into NASCAR signalling its ambition and determination to be the country’s go-to used car retailer.

Cindric, who enjoyed a strong start to the 2021 NXS season following last year’s championship performance, said: “It’s a great opportunity to welcome a new brand to our sport and I’m excited to represent Penske Automotive Group and carry the CarShop colours on our No. 22 Ford for some of our biggest races this season. CarShop offers a unique car buying experience and we hope to deliver some strong results in the CarShop Mustang in 2021.”

The 22-year-old driver won the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway on February 13, as he secured a spot in the NXS Playoffs and became the first defending series champion since 1997 to open the following season with a victory. Cindric currently leads the Xfinity Series point standings with five-consecutive top-five finishes to start the season. The talented young racer also made his NASCAR Cup Series debut in February at the Daytona 500.

Nigel Hurley, CEO of CarShop UK, added: “The car retail industry is moving faster than ever before, and we’re excited to be leading the march through our expansion into US territories and partnership with Team Penske’s Austin Cindric and the No.22 Ford Mustang team.

“We’re expanding overseas, innovating to allow our customers to shop in the way that they want to, and providing the same exceptionally high standard of service and quality reassurance as always. There has never been a better time to buy a used car with CarShop.”