15 November 2010

An unexplained sense of nostalgia as I read this week that Voyager Group, the holding company for Richard Branson’s Virgin empire, has finally dissolved Virgin Cars. You remember it, I’m sure: the company that was going to revolutionise auto retailing in this country.

As a journalist, you’re taught to be wary of anything ‘revolutionary’. With a few notable exceptions, there are good reasons why revolutions generally fail and the status quo prevails. Evolution, not revolution is a much more successful and enduring path.

Branson had ambitious plans for Virgin Cars; it was forecast to sell 24,000 cars a year. To be fair, as with so many Virgin-branded enterprises, he was only the front-man and Ian Lancaster – the man behind the scheme – was simply launching an online auto retailer with the added benefit of a trusted, powerful, high profile brand name.

If any online auto retailer was going to work it should have been Virgin Cars but, of course, it didn’t; not even when it was eventually licensed to the late Derek Cook who, love him or loathe him, certainly knew a thing or two about selling cars.

And therein lies the lesson. Yes, the internet may be revolutionary but it hasn’t revolutionised the way we sell cars.

Even now, according to the latest Cars Online survey, only 28% of consumers in the UK say they are likely to buy online (mainly new cars) and the primary reason is the expectation of a discount. So, that’s hardly a great business model for the retailer, is it?

Hey, we can give you a discount in the showroom, and we can give you a test drive, and you can meet the aftersales team, and we can arrange finance for you, and we can take your part exchange, and you can drive away the same day … what’s not to like about that?

Have a great week, both in and out of the showroom. If you have a story for us, or want to get something off your chest, email rupert@auto-retail.com

Rupert Saunders

Tags: online car sales, RIP, Virgin cars