Exponential growth in bookings: The company is experiencing an annual multiplication of bookings
Expansion to 7,000 partners of the approximately 36,000 repair shops in Germany — a significant market share
Foundations laid for international expansion in Sweden, France, Switzerland, and Austria
Increased workshop utilization: Partners report significantly improved capacity utilization and more efficient customer management
repareo digitally connects over 7,000 repair shops with millions of drivers across Germany, modernizing an industry with its scalable Google Cloud architecture. The company is now expanding its successful model throughout Europe.
repareo digitally connects over 7,000 repair shops with millions of drivers across Germany, modernizing an industry with its scalable Google Cloud architecture. The company is now expanding its successful model throughout Europe.
Connecting drivers and repair shops through technology
From finding the right repair shop to building a digital ecosystem, repareo's story begins with an everyday problem: how to find a reliable car repair shop that also has available appointments. Founded by two former Autoscout24 employees, the company started as a B2C project. However, it soon became clear that this seemingly simple question hid a complex technical challenge.
"To digitally connect drivers with repair shops, we need to know which shops can repair or service a specific type of vehicle and at the same time have free appointments," explains Philipp Haac, CEO of repareo. "To know this, we had to integrate deeply into their systems — calendar systems, inventory management systems, depending on where they manage their resources."
The user experience is deliberately simple: customers select the desired workshop service on the website, enter their postal code and vehicle data, and receive an overview of available workshops with open appointments and transparent prices. repareo has set a goal that 80% of customers should be able to find a workshop within a 10-kilometer radius of their location.
The heterogeneity of the repair shop landscape compounds this technical complexity.
To digitally connect drivers with repair shops, we need to know which shops can repair or service a specific type of vehicle and, at the same time, have free appointments. To know this, we had to integrate deeply into their systems — calendar systems, inventory management systems, depending on where they manage their resources.
Philipp Haac
CEO, repareo
From cutting-edge dealerships with state-of-the-art dealer management systems to traditional backyard workshops where the owner has been working with paper folders for 30 years, repareo had to find solutions for all.
With over 20 employees, primarily based in Munich, repareo has developed a robust platform that serves not only end users but also car manufacturers, insurance companies, leasing companies, and ecommerce platforms. "Our B2C portal is still our foundation," emphasizes Haac. "It's through direct customer interaction that we learn how the product works and what customers want."
The challenge: Rapid data growth with increasing complexity
As repareo grew rapidly and integrated thousands of workshops, its existing IT infrastructure became a bottleneck. When the company launched a partnership with eBay for a garage service in 2023, the demands on its systems increased tremendously.
For each car — and I mean literally every single car model on the market — we need to be able to calculate over 70 different types of repairs, with individual prices per workshop. Our data matrix encompasses more than 30,000 vehicle models, multiplied by 70 repair types, and 7,000 individual hourly rates. That adds up to a vast number of calculations.
Philipp Haac
CEO, repareo
"For each car — and I mean literally every single car model on the market — we need to be able to calculate over 70 different types of repairs, with individual prices per workshop," Haac describes the challenge. "Our data matrix encompasses more than 30,000 vehicle models, multiplied by 70 repair types, and 7,000 individual hourly rates. That adds up to a vast number of calculations."
At the same time, the automotive world is undergoing significant changes: newer vehicles are becoming increasingly complex and digital, and the average age of cars on the road has been steadily rising over the past decade. At the beginning of 2024, it reached an all-time high of 10.3 years. These opposing trends require a system that can provide both highly specialized workshops for new electric vehicles and affordable alternatives for older vehicles.
repareo's existing solution, based on a managed server, was reaching its limits. "We have always worked only for OEMs — companies that are very sensitive and demanding," explains Haac. "When we started the repair service with eBay, the requirements for scalability, speed, and security grew so much that our self-managed server model reached its limits."
The path to the cloud: Scalable, flexible, future-proof
In 2024, repareo decided to migrate its systems completely to the cloud. After evaluating several providers, it ultimately chose Google Cloud, not only for its technical capabilities, but also for its deep industry expertise. "From our very first discussions, we could tell that Google had tremendous expertise in the automotive industry," said Haac. "This was impressively confirmed throughout the project. The process was successful from start to finish, providing excellent advice, firm support, a personal touch, and leveraging deep industry knowledge."
repareo's technical architecture is now based on several key Google Cloud components:
- Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE): The new application infrastructure is built on microservices. Google's container technology provides maximum performance, flexibility, and scalability while maintaining ease of management.
- Apigee: The API management platform plays a critical role in integrating different shop floor systems, allowing repareo to connect to thousands of heterogeneous IT systems.
- BigQuery: To analyze and process large datasets, repareo utilizes the data processing capabilities of BigQuery.
The API interfaces are especially critical to repareo's business. "The most complex part of our stack is the real-time display of available appointments," explains Haac. "We have made this part available as a white-label or API service for partners such as fleet management companies or car manufacturers."
From our very first discussions, we could tell that Google had tremendous expertise in the automotive industry. This was impressively confirmed throughout the project. The process was successful from start to finish, providing excellent advice, firm support, a personal touch, and leveraging deep industry knowledge.
Philipp Haac
CEO, repareo
Innovation with Generative AI and 'Reserve with Google'
A particularly successful project is the integration with 'Reserve with Google', an initiative that allows users to search for repair shops and book appointments directly through Google. "This is one of our coolest projects yet," Haac enthuses. "We've already gotten several shops excited about it, both independent shops, larger concepts, as well as leading OEM dealerships."
A repair shop gets its page with us for just 9 euros a month and is listed on repareo. It can also be activated using Google and, in addition, can be integrated into the active driver management of partners such as Finn and Arval. The path to the digital world could hardly be easier for a company.
Philipp Haac
CEO, repareo
The impact of the integration has been immediate: "When a shop has the button, its search ranking automatically improves, and visibility increases significantly," says Haac. For one repair shop chain, it even led directly to a flood of inquiries.
Even more transformative has been working with eBay for their garage service. "We've been working intensively with eBay for the past two years," explains Haac. The innovative concept: When a customer buys a car part on eBay, they can directly find a suitable garage for installation, including an individual cost estimate based on that garage's specific hourly rates. "Not only does the customer see which shop in their area can install the part, but they also get a realistic quote right away," says Haac. "This creates transparency and removes a major hurdle when buying car parts through the platform." A particular advantage: The purchased parts are delivered directly to the selected workshop, and the installation is already included in the displayed total price.
The transformation with Google Cloud has led to impressive results for repareo:
- Exponential growth in bookings: The company is experiencing an annual multiplication of bookings.
- Expansion to 7,000 partners: Of the approximately 36,000 repair shops in Germany, 7,000 are already bookable on the repareo platform — a significant market share.
- Foundations laid for international expansion: Following its success in Germany, repareo launched its first projects in Sweden, France, Switzerland, and Austria.
- Increased workshop utilization: Partners report significantly improved capacity utilization and more efficient customer management.
For repair shops, the platform offers several key benefits: "A repair shop gets its page with us for just 9 euros a month and is listed on repareo. It can also be activated using Google and, in addition, is integrated into the active driver management of partners such as Finn and Arval," explains Haac. "The path to the digital world could hardly be easier for a workshop."
The quality of referred customers is particularly valuable for garages. "When booking, customers must specify exactly which vehicle model they have," Haac points out. "This means that workshops don't just get more customers, they get the right, attractive customers who perfectly match their expertise. Customers arrive well-informed, know when to bring their car, and there are no unpleasant surprises with the bill." Automatic pre-selection prevents customers from arriving with vehicles the shop doesn't specialize in, resulting in a massive gain in time and efficiency.
The use of repareo is entirely free for customers, as the platform finances itself through a commission paid by the workshops for successfully referred appointments. Price calculation is transparent for many standard services, such as inspections, timing belt replacements, brake replacements, or oil changes, according to manufacturer specifications. Instead of being put on hold and then waiting on the phone while a service advisor painstakingly prepares an estimate, customers can instantly see online which shops have available appointments, the approximate cost of the repair, and the shop's reviews.
Looking ahead: The future of the digital workshop world
The workshop market is facing profound changes: many shops will close in the coming years as owners retire, often without successors in place. At the same time, automakers are consolidating their dealer networks.
"You don't need to be an oracle to see that the workshop market is about to change dramatically; just look at the statistics," says Haac. "There will be fewer workshops, but demand will not decrease in the short term. This means that utilization will continue to increase."
In this changing environment, repareo positions itself as a central platform that brings transparency to a fragmented market. With the scalable Google Cloud infrastructure, the company is preparing for further expansion across Europe while deepening integrations with vehicle apps from manufacturers, insurance companies, and leasing companies. Without becoming a data trader itself, repareo leverages its extensive database to continuously improve its core offerings, from precise price calculations to intelligent workshop recommendations.
You don't need to be an oracle to see that the workshop market is about to change dramatically; just look at the statistics. There will be fewer workshops, but demand will not decrease in the short term. This means that utilization will continue to increase.
Philipp Haac
CEO, repareo
"We've taken on a huge problem: digitizing the workshop landscape in Germany, which has evolved over decades and is highly heterogeneous," summarizes Haac. "It's a tough challenge, and no one has done it before us."
With Google Cloud as its technological foundation, repareo is well on its way to meeting that challenge and playing a significant role in transforming the repair shop market for the benefit of drivers, repair shops, and the entire automotive industry.
repareo is an independent digital platform founded in 2017 and based in Munich, connecting over 7,000 service locations with millions of drivers across Germany, revolutionizing the automotive service market through seamless online bookings. The system enables customers to locate suitable repair shops with available appointments, receive transparent price calculations, and book appointments online 24/7, all based on their vehicle type.
Industries: ecommerce, Technology
Location: Germany
Products: BigQuery, Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), Apigee
