The triumphal march of online trade will also change the car industry profoundly in the coming years. This is what the consulting firm PwC said in a study published on Wednesday. Independent car dealers threaten in the long term even out.
Only a good half (56 percent) of customers, according to a survey of PwC among 1000 German consumers of car dealers today the most important contact for buying a car. Almost two-thirds of consumers can now imagine well to buy their car directly from the manufacturer. And after all, every second one was open to buying via an online platform.
Diesel scandal burdens car dealerships
Currently, many dealers are suffering from the exhaust scandal that has caused diesel cars to lose value drastically. This has a negative effect especially for car dealerships, who have leased such vehicles in large quantities and get back after the expiration of the contract of the customers.
The majority of traders believe that their situation will continue to deteriorate in the medium to long term. "Three out of five German car dealers no longer believe in their own business model", PwC sums up the results of a survey of 1,800 dealers.
Automotive industry puts traders under pressure
Four out of five traders felt threatened by direct selling by manufacturers, almost three quarters by independent sales platforms on the Internet. In addition, every second dealer complained that the loyalty of the customers decreases.
It is questionable whether the business model of independent car dealerships "in view of the Internet age almost complete price transparency can be maintained long," said PwC expert Simon Ström. Manufacturers and car dealerships would have to mesh much more closely in the future. "The car companies will clearly set the tone in this constellation," predicted the PwC auto expert Felix Kuhnert.