OPENLANE Europe

Overview

The company was founded in Belgium in 2004 as CarsOnTheWeb (COTW) and held its first online auction in January 2005. It set up a German entity in 2006, entities in France and Italy in 2007, and moved its headquarters to Grijpenlaan in Tienen in 2009. ING Activator Fund and Ark Angels Fund invested in 2010; Vortex Capital Partners and ABN AMRO Participaties invested in 2016. The business operated as ADESA Europe until 22 November 2023, when it became OPENLANE Europe after parent KAR Global had rebranded to OPENLANE in May 2023. Johan Meyssen, who joined in 2008, retired as CEO of ADESA Europe in 2023 after 15 years; Grainne van Berkum was appointed President in November 2023. OPENLANE Europe is a business unit of OPENLANE Inc. (NYSE: OPLN) in Carmel, Indiana. Milestones include the 2024 Stellantis deal for weekly exclusive ex-rental auctions, the 2025 launch of OPENLANE Next-to-New for young low-mileage cars at fixed prices, the 2024 Fleet Europe Remarketing Innovation Award, and local-currency payments for Polish and Czech buyers in 2026.

Funding history

• 2010 investment: ING Activator Fund and Ark Angels Fund
• 2016 investment: Vortex Capital Partners and ABN AMRO Participaties
• 2019 acquisition: Acquired by KAR Auction Services (announced 2018, completed January 2019)

Stated facts & numbers

• Founded: 2004 (as CarsOnTheWeb)
• Headquarters: Tienen, Belgium
• Legal entity: OPENLANE Europe NV
• Parent: OPENLANE Inc. (NYSE: OPLN), Carmel, Indiana
• Employees: 201-500
• President: Grainne van Berkum (since November 2023)
• Sales operations: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom
• Registered buyers: 135,000+
• Customers: OEMs, dealers, fleet operators, rental companies, financial institutions; Stellantis, Athlon
• Former names: CarsOnTheWeb (2004-2019), ADESA Europe (until 2023)