Motorway Logo PNG
The Motorway logo is a metaphor for continuous progress, innovation, and the unwavering drive forward. Every detail of the emblem highlights the company’s core idea: always staying connected and providing reliable solutions for its clients. The logo reflects the essence of the brand, emphasizing modernity and accessibility.
Motorway: Brand overview
In July 2017, three entrepreneurs, Tom Leats, Alex Battle, and Harry Jones, launched a new platform for used car sales, marking the beginning of Motorway’s journey. The founders had previously developed and sold other internet ventures, such as TopTableGames and Zoopla, demonstrating their ability to collaborate successfully. The idea for this platform came from their difficulties with selling cars, noticing that the process was often complex, unclear, and inefficient for buyers and sellers. Their goal was to create a service that would streamline and simplify this process, making it more transparent and beneficial for everyone involved.
During the early months of the company’s formation, the founders focused on building the technology platform and forming partnerships with car dealers. They developed an algorithm that accurately values a vehicle based on several factors: make, model, year, mileage, and condition.
Motorway launched its initial service at the end of 2017. Initially, the platform aggregated offers from various online car buyers, helping sellers compare bids and choose the best option. This approach quickly attracted a user base and investors.
2018 was a year of rapid growth. The company secured its first major investment of £2.75 million from Alex Chesterman, founder of Zoopla, along with LocalGlobe and Marchmont Ventures. This funding allowed the business to expand its team, enhance its technology infrastructure, and increase its marketing efforts.
2018, the platform expanded its reach across the UK by partnering with more vehicle dealers. The company also began developing its car auction system, which later became central to its business model.
2019 the company introduced a new Motorway Pro system for professional car dealers. This feature enabled dealers to participate directly in online used car auctions. The new service quickly gained popularity among dealers, providing them access to a wide range of high-quality used cars.
That same year, the company received an additional £11 million investment from Marchmont Ventures and LocalGlobe, which was used to grow the team and further develop the technology platform.
In 2020, despite global challenges, the platform adapted by fully committing to an entirely online car sales process. This decision led to significant growth for the company.
In June 2020, it was announced that the company had raised £25 million in a Series B funding round led by Index Ventures and Autotech Ventures. This funding allowed the business to increase its marketing efforts and accelerate the development of its technology platform.
The platform achieved record-breaking growth in 2021, significantly expanding its UK used car sales market share. In June 2021, the company completed a Series B+ round led by Index Ventures and Iconiq Growth, raising an additional £48 million. With a valuation exceeding $1 billion, the company became one of the UK’s fastest-growing software startups.
By the end of 2021, the platform generated over £500 million in annual revenue from selling more than 8,000 cars monthly. The company also significantly expanded its workforce, adding hundreds of new employees.
2022 saw continued success. The company enhanced its technology platform, introducing new features like an advanced AI-based vehicle condition assessment system. Additionally, the UK’s network of vehicle dealer partners grew to over 5,000.
This company has transformed from a modest startup into a major player in the UK used car sales industry by improving the process to be more efficient and transparent.
Meaning and History
What is Motorway?
It is a UK-based online platform that facilitates the sale of used cars. The platform connects private car sellers with dealerships and buyers, simplifying car-selling. Sellers can quickly estimate their car’s value, list it on the platform, and receive offers from a verified dealer network. The company makes selling a car fast, easy, and transparent by offering better prices than traditional car selling methods. The platform provides all logistics, including free car pickup and secure payment, giving sellers and buyers a hassle-free experience.
2017 – 2019
When the Motorway online platform first launched, designers created a universal logo inspired by its short name. The result was a sleek wordmark that reflects the startup’s connection to the automotive industry but doesn’t explicitly indicate its specific business focus: from the name alone, it’s hard to tell that the company helps people sell their used cars.
The logo features a simple font, hinting at the website’s ease of use, clarity of functions, and accessibility of services. The minimalist appearance is achieved through basic geometric shapes, consistent line thickness, and the absence of serifs or other decorative elements.
The font resembles Churchward Isabella Light from BluHead Studio, but Motorway’s version lacks horizontal cuts at the ends of the letters: all the strokes are straight, clean, and confident. While this might take away some of the creativity, it reinforces the seriousness and reliability of the platform, aiming to instill trust in car owners.
The brand name is written in lowercase glyphs, which gives it a more approachable feel. The designers intentionally used lowercase letters, introducing three circular counters within the word—just the right number to resemble a traffic light. Each circle is colored differently:
- The first is red,
- The second is yellow,
- The third is green.
This combination truly resembles a traffic light, which regulates road traffic. The Motorway logo highlights the company’s connection to vehicles and symbolizes punctuality, safety, and reliability. The traffic light emphasizes the importance of following rules when selling used cars while signaling that the perfect moment has arrived to close a great deal and move forward.
The red, yellow, and green add variety to the emblem, breaking up the otherwise dull gray color of the letters. This contrasting palette aimed to draw attention to the online platform, which was relatively unknown at its launch and needed effective marketing tools.
2019 – today
Two years after entering the used car market, Motorway realized it needed a new look. The company had evolved from an unremarkable startup into a sought-after source of vehicles. As its popularity grew, more people saw its outdated logo, which no longer aligned with modern trends.
Designers addressed this issue by reimagining the wordmark and making it more minimalist. Removing the improvised traffic light eliminated the childlike elements that had made the brand feel less serious. Now, the company’s name appears 100% solid and professional, thanks to:
- A bold black color that creates an aura of prestige and confidence,
- A classic letterform free from unnecessary decorative elements,
- A harmonious combination of straight lines, angles, and smooth curves.
The new logo was first introduced in 1958 and inspired by the UK’s road signs. All the text on these signs is in the iconic Transport typeface. Bold, progressive, simple, and somewhat futuristic, this font was designed to allow drivers to read text on signs easily without losing focus on driving.
The designers of the Motorway emblem made slight modifications to the Transport font, adding individuality while maintaining the lettering’s clarity and readability. The bold lines instill the confidence the online platform seeks to convey to its clients. The glyphs remain lowercase, helping Motorway maintain the image of a simple, open, and approachable company.
Only one element in the logo hints at the brand’s creativity: the “disassembled” letter “y.” It comprises a small circle and a large stroke resembling a closing angle bracket. This composition was also inspired by the UK’s road sign system, specifically the direction arrow. The designers reinterpreted this symbol, making it the star of Motorway’s visual identity. It seems to point in the right direction, inviting users to use the online platform to sell used cars.
As part of the “y,” the broken line injects energy into the lettering, drawing attention to the company’s name. The circular dot doesn’t appear static either—it sits at the top, distanced from the other elements, evoking a sense of movement. The designers managed to link the wordmark to the concepts of speed, dynamism, and continuous growth. The strict black color reins in the logo prevent it from becoming too expressive, as the brand aims to maintain a serious image in the eyes of its customers.
