Tesla may be developing a name for pushing direct sales, but other automakers are also testing the waters of selling their cars over the Internet – in Europe, at least.
Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo are testing online car purchasing with their European customers in select markets, with varying levels of success, according to AutoNews Europe. Interest is high, but the thought of buying a car without seeing it in person first gives some buyers cold feet.
In some cases, buyers have been eager to order something that’s going to make them among the first on their block to have something. You could argue this is the “Neiman Marcus Edition” theory.
That was the case with the 2016 Volvo XC90 First Edition that the company announced last year. The first 1,927 examples of Volvo’s new SUV sold out in 47 hours – even before any journalists had driven the vehicle. Now Volvo wants to get its entire lineup for sale online by 2016. Volvo executive Alain Visser said online sales is proving popular because customers, “want tobypass the salesman discussion.”
But Daimler executive Ola Kaellenius told Autonews Europe Mercedes-Benz buyers are hesitant to complete the buying process solely online without any additional incentive for doing so. Daimler is testing online Mercedes sales in Hamburg and Warsaw, with the possibility of expanding to other markets to be discussed later this year. Mercedes’ research says its buyers still want to talk to sales people and book test drives.
Hyundai, meanwhile, has used mall locations in the UK to complement its online sales, where buyers can see cars in person and even take test drives, sort of like what Tesla has done with some of its showrooms in the U.S.
Personally, I’m comfortable with ordering a car online as long as I’ve been able to drive a model like the one I’m clicking to buy beforehand. But would you be?
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