Florian Reister has a theory about electric vehicles: the ones already on the road matter just as much as the ones rolling off the assembly line. Perhaps more.
That conviction now has €4.2 million in fresh backing. Aampere, the Munich-based marketplace Reister co-founded to connect used EV sellers with dealers across Europe, announced the close of a late seed round on July 23, 2026. Estonian early-stage firm Trind Ventures led the financing, joined by Vend Marketplaces ASA—the Nordic powerhouse behind FINN.no, Blocket, and Bilbasen—as a minority investor. New backer G-FUND and existing investor GIMIC Ventures also participated, alongside a handful of automotive industry angels who preferred to stay out of the spotlight.
The funding breakdown, according to German trade publication Elektroauto News, puts Trind's contribution at roughly €2 million. Vend ponied up around €1 million for approximately 5% equity; G-FUND added €250,000, while GIMIC deepened its position with €660,000. Industry observers pegged the post-money valuation north of €20 million based on share issuance filings, though Aampere itself hasn't confirmed the number. Combined with a €1.6 million seed round Trind led, announced on October 29, 2025, the company has now pulled in close to €6 million.
The Pitch: Speed Meets Simplicity
What Aampere is selling isn't particularly exotic—it's efficiency. Sellers list their EV; within 48 hours, they receive a binding purchase offer. Accept it, and Aampere prepays, then dispatches someone to collect the car from your driveway. Behind the scenes, the startup runs a real-time auction among its network of dealers—currently around 200 across more than six countries—to set the price. Aampere holds title just long enough to transfer it to the winning bidder, keeping inventory risk minimal and operations lean.
Right now, sellers are concentrated in Germany and Austria. Buyers? They're scattered across the Nordics, Benelux, and the Baltics—a geographic split that reflects both where EVs have penetrated deepest and where dealer appetite runs hottest. According to Aampere's homepage as of July 2026, the platform sports a 4.9 out of 5 rating on Google, drawn from 435 reviews, which in the often-brutal world of used car transactions counts for something.
Reister launched Aampere on May 30, 2022, alongside Nikolaus Schmidt, now chief growth officer, and Maximilian Rost, who heads product. The timing wasn't accidental. Europe's EV adoption was accelerating, but the secondary market—where most people actually buy cars—remained fragmented, opaque, and slow.
Traction, With Caveats
Aampere says revenue has grown roughly fourfold year over year, and the company is now cycling several thousand electric vehicles annually through its platform. The team shared 2026 targets with Elektroauto News: mid-seven-figure revenue, gross merchandise value in the high eight figures, and around 2,500 vehicles sold by year's end. Headcount has climbed past 25.
Whether those milestones materialize is another question. Used EV ownership transfers in Germany have surged—though exact growth rates depend on who's counting and how they define the category. Aampere is betting it can capture a meaningful slice of that activity by inserting itself into moments when EV owners are already thinking about their cars: at charging stations, for instance, where the company plans to ramp up visibility.
The new capital will fund expansion on both sides of the marketplace—more marketing to attract sellers, deeper recruitment of dealers, and a push into additional European markets. Vend's involvement is particularly strategic; the Nordic group has been quietly building dealer infrastructure tools across Scandinavia, and Aampere's platform could slot neatly into that ecosystem.
Circular Ambitions
Reister and his co-founders frame their work in loftier terms than just flipping cars. They talk about circular economy principles, about keeping functional EVs in circulation as Europe phases out internal combustion engines. It's a narrative that plays well with both investors and policymakers eyeing the continent's Green Deal targets.
Still, the proof will be in the execution. Secondary markets are notoriously difficult to scale—liquidity begets liquidity, but getting there requires balancing trust, pricing transparency, and cross-border logistics in an industry where local relationships still dominate. Aampere is wagering that speed and simplicity can override those traditional friction points.
For now, at least, a growing roster of backers seems willing to take that bet alongside them.
