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TRUECar, Inc.
TypePrivate
Nasdaq: TRUE (former)
IndustryCar retailing website
FoundedFebruary 2005; 21 years ago (2005-02)
(as Zag.com)
FoundersScott Painter
Tom Taira
HeadquartersSanta Monica, California, U.S.
Key peopleScott Painter
(CEO)[1]
ProductsPricing and information for new and used cars
RevenueUS$ 175.6 million (2024)[2]
OwnerFair Holdings, Inc.
Websitetruecar.com
Footnotes
[3]

TRUECar, Inc. is an American car listing company headquartered in Santa Monica, California.[4] It also maintains a sales office in Austin, Texas.[5][6][7]

History

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2005–2010: Early years

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TRUECar was originally incorporated under the name "Zag.com Inc." in Delaware in February 2005. Scott Painter and Tom Taira started the business to provide white-label auto-buying programs to affinity groups.

Its initial partner was Capital One in order for its customers to arrange financing, access upfront pricing, and locate inventory online.[8] Other noted co-founders include Jim Nguyen, Oded Noy, and Bernie Brenner.[9][10]

After a year of development, Painter and Taira introduced TRUECar during Techcrunch's Startup Battlefield in 2008, launching it as a separate company from Zag.com.[11] TRUECar gathers automotive retail transaction data from thousands of sources in order to enable consumers "to see what's paid" on any vehicle in the US.[12][13] The two companies merged in 2010.[14]

2011–2014: Pre-IPO

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In January 2011, TRUECar released ClearBook, a used vehicle index that analyzes the used car market in the same way TRUECar did for new cars.[15][16] In May, it acquired News Corp-backed Honk.com, a social car shopping platform.[17]

In late 2011, it launched a television advertising campaign with commercials promoting its services.[18] Shortly thereafter, TRUECar faced backlash from the automotive industry,[19] when several state agencies and regulators notified TRUECar that its practices were noncompliant with some state laws.[20][21]

In response to those notices, TRUECar overhauled its pricing structure,[18] and moved from a pay-per-sale model to a performance-adjusted subscription model for dealers in some states.[22] Meanwhile, in August, it acquired ALG, a company that provides information on future residual values of vehicles.[23]

In a $150 million deal announced in January 2012, the company entered into an exclusive three-year partnership with Yahoo!, taking over and replacing its automotive services with its own solution.[24][25]

TRUECar launched the first all-female racing team in 2012, with support from Penske Media Corporation and Dragon Racing.[26][27] In June, The Virgin Group announced its partnership in support of TRUECar's "Women Empowered" initiative.[26]

On May 16, 2014, TRUECar became publicly traded on NASDAQ under the stock ticker symbol TRUE.[28]

2015–2019: Chip Perry Era

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In 2015, 108 car dealerships sued TRUECar for false advertising of its non-negotiation policy and for violations of the Lanham Act;[29][30] four years later, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit.[31] In July 2017, two years after former AutoTrader.com CEO Chip Perry replaced Painter in the same role at the company,[32][33] it was reported that TRUECar's dealership network grew by more than 24% quarterly compared to the previous year.[34]

In December 2017, TRUECar and the California New Car Dealers Association settled a lawsuit that the association had brought against TRUECar in 2015.[35] In its lawsuit, the association had alleged that TRUECar's billing model violated California law.[35] As part of the settlement, TRUECar agreed to modify its billing model in California.[35]

Shortly after disappointing first quarter results in 2019, TRUECar announced the immediate resignations of the accountable senior executives, including CEO Chip Perry, CTO/CPO Tommy McClung, CMO Neeraj Gunsager, and EVP Brian Skutta.[36][37] Also in 2019, some investors in TRUECar sued the company for misleading shareholders.[38]

2020–present

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In May 2020, having launched a new brand identity and redesign four months earlier, TRUECar announced a program focused on active military members[39] designed to help offset its loss of the USAA Car Buying Service. With over 250 affinity partners,[40] it announced a restructuring, that same month, including layoffs of 30% of its workforce.[41]

On June 14, 2023, CEO Michael Darrow resigned as CEO. The company's CFO, Jantoon Reigersman took over as CEO and laid off 24% of the company's employees.[42]

On January 21, 2026, it was announced that Fair Holdings, Inc. had completed the purchase of TRUECar in a take-private transaction. Fair Holdings is a company formed by a group of investors led by co-founder Painter and which has Zurich North America and AutoNation as some of its partners.[43][44] In February of that years they laid off 30% their workforce.[45]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "TrueCar founder Scott Painter returns as CEO, vows to make struggling company profitable". Automotive News. January 22, 2026. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  2. ↑ "TrueCar, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  3. ↑ "US SEC: Form 10-K TrueCar, Inc". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Company Overview of TrueCar, Inc". Bloomberg Businessweek. 2012. Archived from the original on May 2, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  5. ↑ Dorin Levin (November 17, 2014). "TrueCar's stock revs up". Fortune. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  6. ↑ Katie Roof (May 16, 2014). "TrueCar Up 20% in IPO". FOXBusiness. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  7. ↑ "1 Million Cars in 2018: A Closer Look - TrueCar Blog". 1 Million Cars in 2018: A Closer Look - TrueCar Blog. February 22, 2019. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  8. ↑ Staff. "Capital One, Zag Launch Online Shopping Program DriveOne". www.fi-magazine.com. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  9. ↑ "TrueCar Has No Profits But Billion Dollar Valuation". Seeking Alpha. June 17, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ↑ EquityNet. "TRUECar". EquityNet. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Online Auto Pioneers Scott Painter and Tom Taira Launch New Company, TrueCar, at TechCrunch50". www.businesswire.com. September 11, 2008. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Zag Spins Out TrueCar". SocialTech.com. September 10, 2008. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  13. ↑ Scott Painter, Mark Suster. This Week In Venture Capital #12 With Scott Painter (video). This WeekIn. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012.
  14. ↑ Keegan, Paul (November 4, 2014). "What Happens When the Disrupter Gets Disrupted?". Inc.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  15. ↑ Jennifer Saranow Schultz (February 15, 2011). "ClearBook: A New Online Tool for Judging a Used Car's Worth". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  16. ↑ Shaun Conlin (October 26, 2010). "TrueCar Announces ClearBook Used Car Pricing Aggregator". EverGeek. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  17. ↑ Robin Wauters (May 3, 2011). "TrueCar Acquires News Corp-Backed Automotive Social Network Honk.com". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on March 6, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  18. 1 2 Tara Siegel Bernard (February 10, 2012). "Car Dealers Wince at a Site to End Sales Haggling". New York Times. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  19. ↑ "TrueCar Revamps Pricing Curve". F&I and Showroom. September 6, 2012. Archived from the original on May 24, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  20. ↑ "The TrueCar Challenge". Economist. 2012. p. 59.
  21. ↑ Doron Levin (January 18, 2012). "TrueCar Is Running Into Roadblocks". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  22. ↑ "TrueCar Unveils Compliance Strategy". F&I and Showroom. January 17, 2012. Archived from the original on May 24, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  23. ↑ Sawyers, Arlena (2011). "Painter's Vision: Sales with No Sales Staff". Automotive News. p. 8.
  24. ↑ Ferenstein, Gregory (January 3, 2012). "Yahoo Autos Partners With TrueCar, Brings Transparency To Car Buying". Fast Company. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Sources: TrueCar signs 3-year deal with Yahoo". www.autonews.com. Retrieved July 29, 2026.
  26. 1 2 "Virgin Group Aligns with TrueCar Racing's IndyCar Program, Women's Initiative". Auto Week. June 13, 2012. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  27. ↑ Yvonne Wenger (September 1, 2012). "All-women Team Leaves Mark on Grand Prix of Baltimore". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  28. ↑ "TrueCar jumps in its 1st day on the Nasdaq". AP. May 16, 2014. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  29. ↑ Hannah Lutz (April 2, 2019). "Dealers' lawsuit against TrueCar could head to trial". Automotive News. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Dependable Sales and Service, Inc. et al v. Truecar, Inc". Justia. March 9, 2015. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  31. ↑ "Dependable Sales and Service, Inc. et al v. Truecar, Inc". Pacer. July 15, 2019. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  32. ↑ Hirsch, Jerry. "TrueCar posts big 2nd-quarter loss; CEO Scott Painter to step down". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  33. ↑ "PressReleases". TrueCar, Inc. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  34. ↑ Miller, Daniel. "2 Reasons TrueCar, Inc. Is Still a Buy After Rising 150%". The Motley Fool. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  35. 1 2 3 Jamie LaReau (December 14, 2017). "TrueCar, California Dealers Association settle lawsuit". Automotive News. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  36. ↑ Luis Sanchez (June 28, 2019). "Expect More Pain for TrueCar After Its CEO Departs". The Motley Fool.
  37. ↑ Spencer, Greg. "TrueCar post-Perry: Two gone, reorg set - AIM Group". aimgroup.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  38. ↑ "TrueCar Execs Face Investor Suit Over Partner Site Reboot". LAW360. April 2, 2019. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  39. ↑ "TrueCar Expands Military Car Buying Support with Launch of 'TrueCar Military'". GlobeNewswire News Room. May 4, 2020. Archived from the original on May 22, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  40. ↑ "Partner Network". dealerportal.truecar.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2025. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
  41. ↑ "2 factors prompt TrueCar to trim workforce by 30%". Auto Remarketing. May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  42. ↑ "TrueCar lays off 102 employees, taps new CEO amid restructure". Archived from the original on July 25, 2023. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  43. ↑ "Fair Holdings, Inc., Led by TrueCar Founder Scott Painter, Completes $227 Million Take-Private Acquisition of TrueCar with PenFed, Zurich North America, AutoNation and Others". PR Newswire. Archived from the original on January 28, 2026. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  44. ↑ "Fair Holdings-led group completes acquisition of TrueCar, which is now private". Auto Remarketing. January 22, 2026. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
  45. ↑ "TrueCar Cuts 30% of Staff Across All Offices". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved October 21, 2026.
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