9:57 am, March 16, 2020
AUTOMOTIVE industry leaders John Bailey and Peter Waddell are preparing to launch online used car retailing platform Carzam.
The duo say they have ambitious plans to make serious inroads into the eight million used car transactions that take place annually in the UK, and say they are embracing the growing appetite from consumers to buy cars solely online.
Launching in early April, Carzam is billed as offering a seamless, end-to-end car-buying experience with a range of customer benefits.
Carzam’s core promise to its customers is to offer simplicity and convenience. Major benefits will include next-day home delivery, the ability to complete a transaction online by configuring personal finance with instant approval, plus a seven-day, no-quibble return policy if a customer is unhappy with their vehicle.
Bailey, pictured right with Waddell, was president of international operations at Cox Automotive for five years to January 2019 and is now an investor at Big Motoring World, whose chief executive is Waddell and which was highly commended in the Used Car Supermarket of the Year category at last year’s Car Dealer Used Car Awards. Big Motoring World is one of the most successful used car supermarkets in the UK, with four sites set to retail 40,000 used cars in 2020.
Speaking about the launch of Carzam, Bailey said: ‘I’m excited to announce my involvement in this venture, Carzam, with the genuine opportunity to develop a used car-buying experience with an Amazon-style promise of next-day delivery.
‘I truly believe that this is the way forward for our industry, and our ambitions can only be achieved with a strong team of industry professionals, coupled with the experience of a successful used car retailer.
‘Together with the infrastructure of Big Motoring World, which includes the new state-of-the-art Peterborough National Preparation Centre, which has the capacity of turning around 8,000 cars per month, we have all of the necessary operational facilities, components and, most importantly, the retail experience required to be successful from day one at our fingertips. It is our intention from the very start to make this business successful and instantly scalable.’
Waddell, who was awarded the title of Used Car Dealer Principal of the Year at the 2019 Car Dealer Used Car Awards, added: ‘The timing is perfect to create a successful and, importantly, viable online-only used car retailing proposition.
‘Utilising the very best of our deeply experienced team in the running of a successful, high-volume used car operation and merging it with a seamless online-only digital experience with Carzam will open up exciting new retailing opportunities over both the short and long term.’
MORE: Hundreds of jobs created at car dealership’s new preparation centre
MORE: Big Motoring World to expand its Kent HQ after a ‘highly successful’ spell
