Onto Financial Model
InsurTech Startup Financials (Free Excel Download)
All-inclusive monthly EV subscription (car + insurance + charging + maintenance + tax) on 1-month rolling contracts.
professionals from Deloitte
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About this model
Onto offers all-inclusive monthly electric-vehicle subscriptions covering the car, insurance, charging, maintenance, and tax. Customers can choose vehicles digitally on rolling monthly terms instead of committing to purchase or long leases.
The company had more than 3,000 active customers, 300 corporate clients, and a fleet spanning 18 EV models. Revenue is the monthly subscription per active vehicle, ranging from entry-level to premium EV price points.
The model is a fleet-rental P&L. Vehicles acquired, active fleet, utilization, subscription price, churn, depreciation, insurance, maintenance, charging, and resale value drive revenue and margin. Funding costs and fleet expansion are critical.
A turnkey financial model
Live formulas, no hardcoded values
Outputs are driven by live formulas, so the workbook updates from its assumptions instead of relying on hardcoded results.
All assumptions in one tab
Inputs are clearly marked in the Assumptions tab and separated from calculations, making it clear what to change and what to leave intact.
Statements always balancing
For integrated-statement models, the balance sheet, cash flow, and supporting schedules tie through properly.
Distinct schedules for clarity
Debt, working capital, taxes, and cash flow can get messy quickly. We group calculations in clear schedules, not across disconnected tabs.
No hidden macros or external links
There are no unexplained external workbook links or macros to undermine auditability or portability.
Changes flow through the model
Update a key driver and see the impact carry through the forecast, financing, and return outputs. We never use hardcoded numbers in formulas.
About Onto
onto.uk
How to build a detailed financial model for Onto
A complete walkthrough of the business, drivers, and assumptions behind the downloadable Onto model - distilled from its pitch deck and publicly available information.
Product & value proposition
- Monthly all-in bundle: electric car, insurance, charging, maintenance, road tax - no deposit, no long-term commitment.
- 1-month rolling contract; customer can swap cars anytime.
- Fully digital sign-up: app-based licence upload, in-app car access, home delivery.
- Fleet ranges from city EVs (£339/month, VW e-UP!) to premium SUVs (£1,299/month, Jaguar I-PACE, Tesla Model 3 LR, Audi e-tron).
- B2C and B2B (corporate employee benefit) channels.
Market
- Global automotive industry: £2 trillion market.
- EU powertrain mix shift (stacked bar): EU Electrified share grew from 8% (2018) → 11% (2019) → 18% (2020).
- UK EV market share: 6% to 27% from 2018–2020.
- No explicit TAM/SAM/SOM breakdown for the EV subscription segment in the deck.
Revenue model
- Revenue = monthly subscription fee per vehicle × active fleet.
- Price range: £339/month (entry, VW e-UP!) to £1,299/month (premium, Tesla/Jaguar/Audi).
- Sample price points across the fleet:
- Budget: £339–£399
- Mid: £419–£559
- Premium: £999–£1,299
- B2C direct + B2B corporate channel (300+ companies offering it as employee benefit).
- Mileage cap implied (1,000 miles/month shown on app screens); overage economics not disclosed.
- Asset model: Onto owns/finances the fleet - cars are a balance-sheet asset, subscription revenue is the top line; residual value (RV) on disposal is a key P&L driver not quantified in deck.
Traction & metrics
- Founded 2017; described as growing at 200% annually for 3 years.
- 3,000+ customers active as of July 2021.
- 300+ corporate clients offering Onto as employee benefit.
- 18 EV models from 9 manufacturers.
- 70+ employees.
- Fleet size doubling every 3–6 months.
- c.95% monthly retention, consistent through UK lockdowns.
- >85% of customers use car every day.
- >70% joined due to "all-inclusive" or "no long-term commitment" features.
- Onto 24-month retention rate: ~55% (vs Netflix 65%, Dishoom/unnamed 60%, Blue Apron 23%, HelloFresh 15%).
- Majority of customers subscribe for >1 year.
Unit economics
- LTV: Not explicitly stated. Implied by: avg subscription ~£500–£600/month, avg tenure >12 months (slide 9 shows majority >1 year; 55% still active at 24 months). Rough implied LTV >£6,000–£12,000 per customer - not in deck.
Competition / moat
- Competitive positioning: largest EV subscription in Europe; largest fully-electric fleet in UK.
- Differentiation vs leasing: no long-term commitment, all-in bundle, digital-first, EV-only.
- Moat: fleet scale (purchasing power / OEM relationships), brand trust, 24/7 digital ops platform, corporate channel.
Team & funding ask / use of funds
- Team: 70+ employees.
- Rob Jolly - CEO, Co-founder (ex-JLR EV & Mobility strategy, founded 2017)
- Peter Phillips - CFO (ex-GM-Masterlease CFO, ex-Tesla European Finance Director)
- Rui Ferreira - CCO (ex-Hertz VP Fleet managing 120k cars, ex-GM Euro Director)
- Joe Knowles - COO (ex-JLR Head of European Compliance; grown Onto from 50 cars)
- Simon Kessler - Treasurer (ex-Citi Industry Head Mobility & Automotive, CIB APAC)
- Josefina Garat - CMO
- Ben Brown - CTO (ex-Gousto, ex-Intuit)
- Existing investors: Legal & General, Alfvén & Didrikson, Jam Jar Investments, TotalEnergies, Campden Hill Capital.
Recommended financial model
- Archetype + why: Asset-heavy subscription P&L with fleet build-out model. Revenue is purely subscription MRR (fleet × ARPU). The key complexity is the balance sheet: vehicles are owned assets with depreciation, financed by debt facilities; residual value on rotation drives gross margin. This is closer to a "fleet-backed subscription" archetype - similar to car rental / leasing company financials combined with a SaaS retention/cohort layer.
- Forecast horizon & granularity: Monthly for Year 1–2 (to capture fleet ramp and cohort churn); quarterly for Years 3–5. 5-year horizon total.
- Key drivers & assumptions:
| Driver | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Active fleet at model start (Jul 2021) | 3,000 units | - |
| Fleet growth rate | doubling every 3–6 months | use 4-month doubling as base |
| Monthly churn rate | ~5% (retention ~95%) | - |
| Blended ARPU (monthly subscription/unit) | £560/month | - |
| Vehicle cost (avg fleet car) | £35,000–£40,000 | - |
| Vehicle useful life / rotation period | 18–24 months | - |
| Depreciation method | Straight-line to residual value | - |
| Residual value on disposal (% of purchase) | 55–65% | - |
| Vehicle financing cost (interest rate) | 4–6% p.a. | - |
| Insurance cost per vehicle per month | £80–£120 | - |
| Charging cost per vehicle per month | £40–£80 | - |
| Maintenance per vehicle per month | £30–£60 | - |
| Corporate vs consumer mix | 10% corporate fleet accounts | - |
| CAC blended | £200–£400 | - |
| Headcount growth | ~70 at start; scale with fleet | ] |
- Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):
- Base: Fleet doubles every 4 months; 95% monthly retention; ARPU £560; RV 60%.
- Bull: Fleet doubles every 3 months (as deck implies); ARPU drifts up to £650 (mix shift to premium); RV 65% (strong used EV market).
- Bear: Fleet growth slows (6-month doubling); churn rises to 8% (post-lockdown normalisation); RV drops to 50% (EV RV correction); financing cost rises to 7%.
- Required sheets / outputs:
- Assumptions - all drivers in one place, colour-coded.
- Fleet Build - monthly fleet additions, disposals, active fleet, blended ARPU.
- Cohort Retention - monthly cohort MRR × survival curve to model LTV and churn.
- P&L - Revenue (subscription), COGS (depreciation + insurance + charging + maintenance), Gross Profit, Opex (S&M / headcount / tech / G&A), EBITDA, EBIT.
- Balance Sheet - Fleet asset (gross + accumulated depreciation), debt facility, equity.
- Cash Flow - capex on fleet acquisition, debt drawdown/repayment, disposal proceeds, operating cash flows.
- Unit Economics - per-vehicle: monthly revenue, all-in cost, contribution margin; LTV/CAC.
- Funding Waterfall - equity raised vs burn to estimate runway (round size unknown, so sensitise on raise amount).
- Scenarios - toggle Base/Bull/Bear on key variables; show EBITDA breakeven date and cash runway.
Frequently asked
Is the Onto financial model free?+
Yes. The Onto model is a free Excel (.xlsx) download with live formulas. Sign up with your email and the workbook is yours to keep, review, and edit.
What's included in the model?+
A 5-year monthly forecast with P&L, cash flow and runway, valuation (exit multiple plus a DCF cross-check), MOIC/IRR returns, and unit economics, with live formulas throughout.
How was this model built?+
It was built from Onto's pitch deck and publicly available information, then structured to investment-banking standards as a fully editable Excel model.
Can I change the assumptions?+
Yes. You can change assumptions and the live formulas will recalculate in the downloadable Excel model.
Have more financial modelling questions? Contact us
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