The Future of Automotive Retail & Tech: How Will YOU Buy A Car? Wednesday, August 17, 2022

The in-person experience of car buying has always been alluring, letting you inhale the new car scent, examine the shiny power under the hood, literally kick the tires, ask questions of a human salesperson, and feel the road in a test drive. Now online car sales are offering a new experience: click it, order it, pick it up, keep-or-return it – and the automotive industry mostly isn’t ready. The Buzz 1: Nearly 30% of U.S. new car sales in 2020 were completed online, compared to < 2% of vehicles pre-pandemic. The overall car shopping experience took less time and was more efficient…the number of dealerships visited dropped. [abcnews ] The Buzz 2: 53% of car buyers would consider buying a car online. [Accenture report in Readers Digest Mar. 16, 2022] The Buzz 3: Prospective buyers, especially age 55–70, are less inclined to want to interact with sellers at car dealerships. [mckinsey] The Buzz 4: Swedish electric performance car brand Polestar, 50% owned by Volvo, is focusing on a digital-first retail model, with company-owned stores in city centers selling directly to consumers. Volvo's electric C40 Recharge compact SUV will only be available online. Online car retailer Carvana sold 244,111 cars in 2020, a 37% jump from 2019. We’ll ask Daniel Grimm at SAP, Guenter Lasser at proaxia, Christos Maglousidis at OneDealer and Moncombu Raju at SAP for their take on The Future of Automotive Retail and Tech: How Will YOU Buy A Car Tomorrow?