10:38 am, June 18, 2020
Contactless car buying is the future for the industry.
That’s according to The Car Buying Group, which says it has seen tens of thousands of people looking to sell their car since it started trading again.
Chief executive Tom Marley, pictured, said its success was down to its contactless car buying method, and with the automotive industry having taken a hit during the coronavirus pandemic he added that contactless was the way forward.
The online service picks cars up from customers’ homes, and having reopened its virtual doors following government guidelines, Marley said the pandemic had seen it offer the only truly contactless car collection service.
Consumer inquiries have returned to pre-Covid-19 levels – and for vehicles valued between £7,500 and £10,000 there’s even been a year-on-year increase of up to 14 per cent.
Consumer engagement has also continued rising since June 1, it said, with the contactless approach 18 per cent more favourable than in April 2020.
Marley commented: ‘Never has our business model been so relevant. The only change to how we now operate is that the customer does not walk around the car with our driver, which was never necessary, just a habit people liked to do.
‘Now they open the door and leave the keys and documents on the doorstep for the driver to carry out the inspection and then take the car.
‘We’re confident that consumers prefer the contactless approach, and this is likely to be how future car-buying sales will look like, and not just a response to the current pandemic.’
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