The cars we drive have changed tremendously in the last decade, and this is just the beginning. We now have autonomous vehicles, app-enabled on-demand car services, and electric cars. These make driving easier–and cars more comfortable.
But buying cars isn’t easy. We live in the age of information where customers can easily access data. To enhance the customer experience, companies are creating innovations that make driving less complicated and cars more accessible. These innovations empower customers.
Few things are as expensive as cars, and rarely do they last long. To enhance the purchase process and build relationships with clients, car retailers have turned to technology. Here are 3 innovations reshaping automotive retail.
1. Car Subscription Service: Cluno
Instead of buying a car, you can pay for a subscription and get a car of your choice for 6 months. Cluno, a Munich-based startup, sells car subscriptions. The one-off fee you pay covers the car itself and includes tax, insurance, breakdown cover, and ongoing maintenance. You only need to pay for fuel separately.
What’s better than covering all these costs with a single fee? Cluno’s flexible car-ownership model means if circumstances change, your capital won’t be tied up in an unusable asset.
After your subscription ends, you can renew it, pause it, or cancel it. You also have the option to upgrade or downgrade your car. Who wouldn’t want to upgrade to the latest car model?
For Cluno, this is a win-win situation. In addition to selling car subscriptions, the company maintains an ongoing relationship with customers.
2. Car Vending Machine: Alibaba
While digital car showrooms are slowly becoming the norm, Alibaba has teamed up with Ford to take the car-buying experience a notch higher. The company has created a temporary Super Test Drive Center in Guangzhou, China. At this center, customers can pick any car from a vending machine and go for a 3-day test drive.
The test center is unmanned and customers use an app to pick their car, pay a deposit, and schedule when to collect it. On arrival at the center, customers take a selfie to prove their identity and get their car of choice from the storage facility to start test driving. Customers can swap cars if they don’t like what they choose.
Ford’s aim is to make buyers want to keep the cars for good. To complete the car purchase, customers have to visit any of Ford’s 4S stores and pay the remaining amount. The company also offers discounts and incentives based on the client’s history with Alibaba.
3. Share-Buying Model: Rally Road
Rally Road is a Fintech startup that allows people to invest in quality collectible assets–like cars–through a mobile app. The assets are then turned into equity shares and made available to investors. Investors can diversify their portfolios by holding stakes in many assets and asset classes. The company allows people to invest with as little as $50, and you can trade or sell your shares whenever you want.
Rally Road recently opened a New York showroom to showcase a rotating lineup of the cars available for investment. With this move, the company intends to attract new customers by offering them something tangible. If you’re already an investor, you can also go to the showroom and see what you’ve invested in.
The possibilities in automotive retail are endless. If companies can seize the opportunities available by becoming innovative, they can tap into this new market and get a slice of the cake.
About The Author:
Adam Smith is a content writing guru at Contentrist. He is adept in IT as well. He loves to write on different topics. In his free time, he likes to travel and explore different parts of the world.
