RICHMOND, Va. -- The West Coast used car seller that less than a year ago merged with Richmond-based CarLotz has veered into bankruptcy and is going out of business.

Shift Technologies, which last December absorbed CarLotz in a bid to save both companies, on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

As part of that part process, Shift said it had begun an orderly wind-down of its operations, including shutting down its online sales functions and auctioning off the last of its vehicle inventory.

The filing in federal court in California involves 17 Shift affiliates, including eight CarLotz related entities. Among them is CarLotz Inc., which two years ago was publicly traded, valued at $1.9 billion and among the fastest-growing companies in the Richmond region.