17 August 2015

Over the years, several companies have tried to shake up the way cars are sold in the UK. Some of these are from inside the automotive industry – such as Daewoo – and others are from outside the industry – such as Tesco and Virgin.

None of those listed above succeeded, but that didn’t mean that auto retailers didn’t learn from these incursions. After all, Tesla and Rockar are now both operating a haggle-free sales process.

However, no one has yet entered the market on a ‘disruptive’ basis as Uber has done in the private hire market. But this doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

This week it emerged that Amazon may be considering entering the UK grocery market with something called Amazon Fresh.

Given the size of the UK car market, it would be foolish to imagine a (currently) external player wouldn’t at least look at selling cars.

The question is, what would they offer that traditional retailers don’t already? And, assuming they sold new cars, how would operate within manufacturer ‘guidelines’?

I guess it’s a case of wait and see.

Tristan Young

Editorial director

Auto Retail Network 

Tags: Amazon, Daewoo, Tesco, Tesla, Virgin