Car dealers must adapt to these trends

Car dealers will have to deal with three major trends in summer 2019: Leasing, online sales and online marketing of cars. The market is on the move in all sectors.

Leasing trends

A strong increase in private leasing can be observed here. In 2018, just over half - exactly 51 % - of all leasing customers were private individuals. Their share of the total leasing market grew by 19 % compared to 2017, which allows very clear conclusions to be drawn about a sustainable trend. Despite all the scandals, they were happy to opt for diesel vehicles because they receive an environmental bonus if they meet the latest emissions standards. This is more or less a matter of course in the case of leased vehicles, because very often they are new or very young used cars. Around 10% of all leased vehicles in 2018 were leased with this environmental bonus - not to mention the overall market, which also includes a large number of petrol vehicles. The fact that leasing is so popular with private customers is certainly due to the modern offers tailored to this target group, which increasingly includes the middle class and even the small car segment.

The online distribution of cars

Car dealers have been using marketing platforms such as autoscout24.de or mobile.de for some time now. Although the channel does not yet cover the bulk of sales by a long way, it is becoming more important. Pioneers have already been the big manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz with their own online stores from 2013. Initially, not much was sold through this channel, but the companies wanted to create new points of contact with customers beyond pure sales. Dealers should also take up this idea. It may happen quite often that a customer discovers the vehicle online, but then turns up on the spot and buys it. This is not always exactly traceable. However, a sale without an Internet presence and offers in relevant portals should be a thing of the past. Online shops also offer the customer the opportunity to configure a vehicle and deal with it in detail. Dealers can integrate corresponding tools from the manufacturers into their own websites and also gain many interested parties in this way. They should definitely take advantage of this opportunity. The topic belongs to a related area apart from pure online sales, namely

Online marketing of vehicles

This includes more than just the sale. Most dealers rely on the use of these car portals for pure sales (according to recent surveys 55%), but marketing means more than just selling: it is about presenting the brand and your own car dealership. Image cultivation is extremely important for high-priced products such as motor vehicles and can be carried out very well and cost-effectively, especially online. Dealers can not only maintain their own website, but also operate a Facebook and Instagram account to present their latest models (on Instagram) and enter into a very intensive dialogue with their customers (on Facebook). Many car dealers are still very cautious about online marketing, they criticize industry experts. This is partly due to a lack of technical expertise in dealing with the Internet. However, experts can help here efficiently and cost-effectively. Those who recognise this trend in good time and take the necessary steps will be several steps ahead of the competition in future.