With the automotive industry taking a hit during the Coronavirus pandemic, Wakefield-based The Car Buying Group has resumed trading with tens of thousands of customers looking to sell their car.
Claiming its success is down to its contactless car buying method, the firm’s CEO advises that this is the future for the industry.
The Car Buying Group, which formed in 2014, has always operated by collecting cars from customers’ homes and in reopening its virtual doors following government guidelines, the pandemic has seen it offer the only truly contactless car collection service.
Operating in the same way as usual, someone wishing to sell their car obtains a free evaluation online or via the App and books an appointment for collection from their home. The driver calls when one hour away and again when they arrive asking the customer to leave the car keys and documents on the doorstep at this point. The driver then carries out the usual inspection and the order is completed via phone where a The Car Buying Group team member calls to confirm the details and raise the payment which is immediately processed, leaving the driver to take the car.
The Car Buying Group has seen consumer demand return to pre-Covid-19 enquiry levels and in some cases showing a year on year increase of up to 14%*.
Furthermore, consumer engagement has continued to increase since 1st June with the contactless approach 18% more favourable than in April 2020.
The Car Buying Group CEO, Tom Marley says:
“Never has our business model been so relevant. The only change to how we now operate is that the customer does not walk around the car with our driver which was never necessary, just a habit people liked to do. Now they open the door and leave the keys and documents on the doorstep for the driver to carry out the inspection and then take the car.
“We’re confident that consumers prefer the contactless approach, and this is likely to be how future car buying sales will look like, and not just a response to the current pandemic.”
* Year on year increase of up to 14% is for vehicles valued between £7.5k-10k.
