Auto1 moves up to SDAX

The shares of the online used car dealer are promoted to the small-cap index. Grenke flies out.

Used car start-up Auto1 has already reached its next milestone: the stock is moving up to the SDAX - the index for small companies. The move in is scheduled for May 10, Deutsche Börse subsidiary Qontigo announced after an unscheduled review. Going for Auto1 is Grenke, which violated the stock exchange's "basic criteria." The company published its annual report, and thus its financial report, too late. The next scheduled review for the indices is due on June 03.

Auto1 only went public in February. The used car dealer was founded in 2012 and operates in more than 30 countries. The start-up employs 4,200 people. Last year, Auto1 sold around 450,000 vehicles. Its brands include Wirkaufendeinauto.de and Autohero. Auto1 raised about 1.5 billion euros with its IPO. The start-up has earmarked half of that for further growth.