Over 70% of automotive OEMs now offer
a seamless online car sales experience
For the third year in a row, we have monitored and assessed the development of new car online sales, and each year, we have seen an increasing number of online stores. The pandemic in 2020 may have triggered the online sales trend for new cars, but a fundamental and sustainable shift in car buying has now occurred. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) have made considerable efforts in e-commerce, digital services, and customer experience, and advances in information technology, social change, and business trends have reinforced the observed developments.
70%
Providing a positive customer experience throughout the customer journey is gaining importance. Enabling customers to buy a car online creates new opportunities for implementing other digital services, such as a seamless digital customer journey to compete in the online car market.
Similar to the studies in previous years, the results showed that while most OEMs are enhancing the customer experience of their online shops, there is still room for improvement. Only two assessed brands provide the opportunity to purchase a car configured by the customer online. While almost all OEMs offer extensive functionalities in the pre-sales phase, the digital customer journey stops at the transition to sales in nearly 30% of OEMs. Therefore, this year’s study covers the emerging integration of digital apps and services along the customer journey, where customers want more flexibility, individualization, and sustainability.
With e-commerce revenues hitting new highs year after year, OEMs need to ask themselves how to keep pace and even outdistance their competition in the automotive industry and beyond. This study assesses the current online sales performances of major OEMs and identifies where they need to improve to catch up with competitors and differentiate themselves. OEMs must make significant investments to successfully transform sales channels and provide seamless and outstanding customer journeys to be and stay competitive. Becoming a champion of online car sales means freeing up the necessary resources, and for that, it helps to know one’s position – this benchmarking analysis does exactly that.
Read the full report to find out more:
In 30 seconds
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Assessed markets: UK, USA, CHN, GER, ITA, FRA, ESP
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Top10 automotive OEMs in each market from sales, market share and registrations
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17 customer touchpoints in pre-sales, sales and handover
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91 online shops worldwide
Key facts
- Strong increase in UK market performance according to number of shops with seamless customer journeys (+42.9%) and average market maturity score (average maturity score: 28.8 out of 51)
- 65 shops provide a seamless digital customer journey for online new car sales (increase compared to 2022: +8.3%; 2021: +109.7%)
- More than 60% of assessed OEMs relocate parts of the digital customer journey to mobile apps for a better customer experience and enable future revenue streams in aftersales
- Tesla continues to be the leader in the UK benchmarking study (average maturity score: 43 out of 51)
- Development continues with significant differences in online sales maturity in markets, new e-mobility players vs. traditional OEMs, volume vs. premium brands
