Following BMW innovation lab funding, AutoTrader rival Cazana hopes to secure further support from US investors.

Cazana claims to be “the largest car search and indexing engine for used car sales in the UK” and hopes to help consumers make informed buying decisions, alongside supporting manufacturers and finance companies in their understanding of residual values and pricing.

The search engine was not at liberty to reveal the amount secured from BMW but has confirmed that it secured a long-term commercial relationship with its UK Financial Services arm, as reported by AM at the start of the year.

Chief executive Tom Wood has travelled to the US and scheduled to meet with corporate investors and venture capital funds.

As a current recipient of US financial backing, Cazana is “well-placed to show how businesses operating across the Atlantic can benefit from a collaborative approach to technology investment”.

Wood said: “It is a privilege to be chosen as one of just a handful of companies to represent the UK in this important trade mission.

“We’re looking forward to showing how Cazana’s big data and machine learning can help US insurers and companies working with vehicles to reduce their risk by better understanding the history of those vehicles.

“Cazana’s global vehicle database has been proven to reduce the risk of insurance fraud in the UK market, and we’re excited to show US insurers how this data can help them write motor insurance more cost effectively.”