Car showrooms, mostly owned by independent businesses, are under pressure from all sides.
Do you still go to a dealership to buy a car, or do you purchase online and get it delivered to your home?Why do so many of us think we can successfully haggle over the price of a new car with a professional salesman?
Instead of visiting one of the 4,500 car showrooms across the UK, or even several, test driving the vehicle, then picking a car and haggling with the sales team, customers are increasingly trying something new. However, Sue Robinson, chief executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association, begs to differ. She points out that "people still like to go to the showroom, and on average make 3.1 trips there before buying a new car".
We could have gone further, because 10% of UK sales are now said to be completed totally online, with the buyer not seeing the car until it is delivered to his or her doorstep.So too is the move towards electric vehicles. Purely electric and plug-in hybrids now make up 20% of all new cars, and that proportion can only increase in the coming years.
Whoever is right, the move towards servicing electric vehicles will be a game changer for the industry. The need to retrain staff will accelerate and dealers who don't invest in the latest technology will lose out. "There are some carmakers who are a long way along [the journey to owning their own dealerships], and others are waiting to see whether it works," says Ms Robinson.is a series exploring how technological innovation is set to shape the new emerging economic landscape.
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