5 years ago: Marks & Spencer to sell cars online

26.10.99 A European web start-up has received high-profile backing from Marks & Spencer Financial Services, Andersen Consulting and venture capitalists Atlas Ventures in its bid to sell discounted cars online.

OneSwoop.com will enable consumers to buy cars direct from European dealers and have them delivered to their door. It promises savings of up to 40 per cent on UK forecourt prices. Purchasers will be able to arrange a personal loan from Marks & Spencer Financial Services through the site and also be able to buy insurance. Financial group Fortis will act as a trusted third party for financial transactions.

Alan Stevens, editor of consumer organisation Which? Online, said: "We think it's an excellent idea. Consumers have been ripped off for far too long. We've been running the 'Great British Rip-off' campaign for about 18 months and as part of that we've been talking to a number of internet car dealers. We want to help people buy cars abroad."

OneSwoop.com has received first round funding E6.2m and will go live in January next year. (Full story here.)

26.10.04 At a time when the whole world was (seemingly) going online to do business what better product to sell than the motor car? Only it turns out big ticket items can be a real pain. After this initial blaze of publicity, a much-criticised launch in 2000 didn't bode well.

It also didn't help that a range of companies entered the market, promising to revolutionise car-buying in the UK. Plays such as AAbuyacar.com, Autobytel.co.uk, Carbusters.co.uk, Jamjar, RAC Car Partner and Virgin Cars all had their ups and downs, a frequent down being consumers - for such a large purchase - still typically wanting to kick a few wheels and talk to salesmen, however slick.

One industry expert said: "The parallel import opportunity dried up due to UK price reductions and changes in exchange rates. Some of the dot-com business models just didn't work."

But the market has settled down. Oneswoop.com, as of April this year, is now part of Norwich Union and around half of the others are also still doing business.