New Car Online Sales Study 2024

For the fourth consecutive time, BearingPoint has analysed the development of online sales platforms from over 100 car manufacturers in Europe, the USA, and China. The New Car Online Sales Study 2024 provides a benchmark analysis that reveals how well manufacturers understand and meet customer needs through the online sales experience in their websites and apps. Delivering quality omnichannel experiences continue to be critical for brands and this study identifies the market leaders and their best practice.

This year's study benchmarks brand's online stores in terms of functionality, customer experience, and innovation across the sales journey. Whilst the industry divide on agency models and direct sales persists, it is still clear that OEMs’ ability to offer a seamless direct sales experience is highly valuable for many brands and they continue to invest in the channel. The study continues to evolve too, further examining the evolution of the digital customer journey with new touchpoints and evaluation criteria compared to previous years. For example, whilst Virtual Reality has been identified as a trend, it has not yet become a market standard. However, transparent pricing and flexible features-on-demand are clearly gaining increasing importance across the assessed stores, showing how brands continue to adapt to technological advances and changing consumer needs.

The study provides valuable insights into the development of new online sales opportunities by car manufacturers and highlights the leading trends in various regions and markets.

Study Results

The results show a shift in market leadership: While Tesla led online sales for a long time, Mercedes-Benz and NIO have taken the global top spot in 2024. Both brands stand out with above-average performance, offering a seamless online sales experience and a high level of personalisation and customer focus throughout the entire customer journey.

Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy lead the way with an average maturity score above 30, but in the remaining markets differences were significant. Contrary to the assumption that online car shops in Sweden have a high market maturity, there is considerable room for improvement. The United Kingdom was unable to maintain its top position from the previous year.

Global Markets' Average Maturity Scores

With an average maturity score of 31.7, Germany emerges as the winner across all markets. As a German OEM, Mercedes-Benz leads the German, European, and global rankings. In addition to Mercedes, five other German OEMs are among the top 10 in their home market. German OEMs, in particular, excel in the pre-sales phase with compelling examples such as offering customers vehicles from stock with reduced wait times based on a % fit from their configurator designs. Furthermore, subscription models are gaining increasing popularity in Germany as an online sales element, offering customers more flexibility in leasing. 

Top 10 Automotive Brands in the UK

Our Recommendations

As Automotive brands transform and improve their distribution, online sales continues to a be a critical pillar of an effective omnichannel strategy. Brands should monitor and continuously improve the digital customer journey to strengthen their competitive position and the study points to some key considerations for this: 

Key Factors for Successful Digital Transformation in Sales:

Want to learn more? The detailed results, additional background information, and the ranking of the Online Sales Awards 2024 can be found in the study, which is available for free download below.