Volvo to Start Selling Cars Online
Volvo is about to start selling cars where few cars have been sold before – the Internet.
The Swedish carmaker announced as part of a new global strategy that it will gradually expand its website to include the ability to buy cars with a click.
Volvo says it successfully sold almost 2,000 Special Edition XC90s in September as part of a pilot program.
Volvo’s move could add major force to the current trickle of online car sales. GM currently has a pilot program that allows shoppers to do a lot of the work required to purchase a car (i.e. estimate pricing, apply for financing, etc.) online, but you can’t actually finalize a sale.
Tesla is the only manufacturer currently focused on online sales. The company doesn’t even work through a dealership model, which has caused problem in New Jersey and other states.
Volvo promises the pivot to online sales won’t come at the expense of its existing dealerships, calling it a “complement.’’
But coupled with State Farm’s new CarCapture app, which uses photo recognition technology to pull up insurance and sales info about cars you pass on the street, the Volvo news indicates a gradual industry migration to the web.
Not to mention the growing trend of wifi-enabled cars. Pretty soon you’ll be able to use your car’s wifi to upload a picture of another car to the Internet, where you can find out all the information you need to then buy that car on the manufacturer’s website. Talk about impulse buys.
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