The question reveals them. The big players in the dealership business do not know how customer demand will be realized when buying a vehicle. Just as habits changed in other areas of the economy, the automotive industry faces the challenge of adapting to the consumption habits that emerged in the pandemic and modified the uses and customs of users.
It is no accident that the Association of Automotive Dealers of the Argentine Republic (ACARA) is going to launch a program on the future of marketing, hand in hand with the consulting firm ABECEB, to see how agencies must make the transition and transformation. “The idea is to help dealers to reconvert themselves for the future with a digital platform. There is a lot of uncertainty.” explains one of those who is working on the project.
Has there been any change in the customer-automotive relationship since the pandemic? For Augustine Kovarskymanager in Direct Sales and Mobility of Renault Argentina, accelerated a process that had been slower. “Until 2020, only 7% of global sales were made through digital channels and today it is 11% but 15% is projected for 2025. Cars could not be left out of this trend”, underlines the executive who leads the expansion of the channel in the company. But, in addition, the pandemic caused an availability problem that forced us to offer alternatives. “In this channel it is unthinkable to offer a product that we cannot deliver soon. That is why the imported ones are left out of this format because the dollar variable does not depend on us”, assured. In particular, on the recently enhanced website, there is an offer of the Sandero, Logan, Kangoo and Alaskan models, which are being made ready at the Santa Isabel plant.
“The pandemic accelerated the transition times towards the digitization of services. Our brands in Argentina already had developed platforms to access query services, e-commerce and online after-sales services”, he replies Rodrigo Perez Graziano Institutional director of Stellantis Argentina. It should be remembered that Stellantis was formed in 2021 (with the merger of PSA and FCA) and today, according to what the executive explains, “allocates many resources and investments on a global scale in the transition from being a vehicle manufacturer to a tech company”.
what’s coming, Nothing is what it was, they say. Nor will it be, it seems. Automakers are preparing for that technology race. “Concrete examples of the development of technological platforms such as STLA Brain and STLA SmartCockpit (designed together with Amazon and Foxconn), which will be available in 2024 and which will take the relationship between the driver and the vehicle to a higher level of experience and safety with the use of artificial intelligence”, adds Pérez Graziano.
Stellantis’ strategy aims to put the customer at the center of the experience: “Thus, we can adapt to their needs and combine the digital experience with the face-to-face experience. The user can start their experience from their phone to subscribe to a savings plan, purchase a 0KM safely, check prices, evaluate financing possibilities, select the dealer for delivery and pay 100% online”, explains Pérez. Graziano. “CWith the implementation of this new platform, the times towards the digitization of the operation of this channel are accelerated and it helps to make the subscription service for savings plans more agile and with access to all the group’s brands. This new development improves the experience of each of our clients and achieves greater transparency in the process”, adds the executive.
medium term. Will the concessionaires disappear completely? Will customers only buy a car online? Beyond the certainties that the sector is in a process of change, opinion is not unanimous regarding the future. In Renault They are also attentive to the digitization trend, although with some reservations. “We believe that the dealership experience adds substantial value to the buying process. We are clear that this experience is becoming digital, but we highly value direct contact for commercial interaction and bond strengthening. That is why we do not believe that the future will be 100% digital”, he underlined Jorge PortugalVice President of Sales and Operations of Renault for Latin America, inaugurating the new concept of commercial network and the visual identity of the brand in the digital environment.
With an eye on “listening more to customers”, lhe automaker is in the process of generating a quality measurement, the e-reputation, through the Google system, of the “stars” by which each client places their assessment of their experience. “We are interested in each client having an adequate response to their expectations. It is an opportunity to correct if there was an error in any phase of the process”, adds the executive.
“This is something that is coming, we are directing the channel towards new roles for dealers. It will not happen overnight, but the trend is irreversible and it is better to adapt than to go against it”, concludes Kovarsy. The automotive industry not only reconverts its production processes. In his relationship with the client, now he is also starting his path towards the new digital age.
by Marcelo Alfano
