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Amazon-style online used car sales – the next big disrupter?

Used car sales could be transformed by online businesses promised home delivery within 48 hours and a money back guarantee
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9 July 2019

GROWTH in ‘Amazon-style’ online used car sales, delivered to your door, is hotting up

Start-up specialist Tim Hammond, a 90’s online shopping pioneer, has launched Driver 1 where consumers can buy a car online and have it delivered to home in as little as 48 hours.
Coming soon, Cazoo, due  to be launched later this year seeking to transform the way people buy used cars. 

Cazoo has been ranked at number 13 on the Startups 100 2019 list, despite not having even launched yet. The man behind it is Alex Chesterman, who previously founded LoveFilm and Zoopla.

Chesterman has already secured over £30 million of funding and has been busy assembling a team ahead of its planned launch.

Cazoo aims to make buying a used car no different to buying any other product online today by letting consumers select from thousands of cars online and have it delivered to their door in as little as 48 hours.

Rival Driver 1, which launched at the beginning of this month, operates like a giant online car vending machine, according to founder Hammond, with access to over 10,000 cars and, like Amazon Prime, delivery is free.

He has designed the Driver 1 service for younger consumers to be compatible with mobile and digital-first lifestyles.
He said: “This generation (GenZ) of over 2.7 million young drivers under 24 are being under-served by the car industry. They no longer want old bangers that they have to work on with a Haynes manual, and they’re not eligible for, and can’t afford new car leases.
There is a huge gap in the market that we can fill with driver 1. ” Says Hammond.
The secret to the model is depreciation.
“A new Polo costs £15k, but after 4 years its as low as £6k. But 4 year old cars are so much better than they used to be and now have all the technology that young drivers want such as bluetooth connectivity for their music playlists.
“So like the mobile phone sector where Apple have found that less people are changing to the new handsets, the same can be said of cars, where 4 year old ones are now just as desirable as new ones, but at less than half the cost.
“This means monthly payments from as little as £96 a month. That’s far more affordable for young drivers on a budget, and great news for their parents who often have to foot the bill.”
Hammond said that Driver 1’s ‘online car vending machine’ dispenses pre-loved, 4 year old Polos, Fiestas, Minis, and Fiat 500s swiftly and cheaply.
“Drivers can simply scan their driving licence with their mobile phone and get approved for a monthly personal contract plan in just a few minutes.
“Once approved they are shown a range of shiny small cars in their price bracket and free home delivery is arranged in as little as 48 hours.
All cars come with an inclusive, package that covers warranty, breakdown, MOT, and road tax. Driver 1 offers free home delivery and a 14 day money-back guarantee on every car.”
Hammond added: “Everyone talks about offering a hassle-free service, but what can be easier than driver 1 delivering your new car, and taking away your trade-in at the same time? No journeys to webuyanycar, or haggling with the salesman, simply click upgrade on the driver 1 website for a complete key-to-key service.

“We’ve created Driver 1 to be as easy as Amazon Prime. A huge stock available for just-in-time online ordering, free home delivery and a money-back guarantee.”

Cazoo, based in Euston, London is aimed at a much wider customer base and a greater number of vehicles avialable, although premise is similar – order online, home delivery within 48 hours and money back if you don’t like it.

The start-up has also signed a number of commercial partnership agreements for its vehicle logistics, refurbishment and disposal requirements with BCA.

As part of the agreements, cars purchased by Cazoo will be refurbished at various BCA-owned locations, with UK-wide logistics support provided by BCA Automotive.

In addition, BCA will provide part exchange disposal services for Cazoo using its Consumer Appraisal and DealerPro product set, as well as its market-leading imagery solutions from AutosOnShow.

Cazoo secured £30 million of funding late last year, making it one of the UK’s best-funded start-ups and has already begun purchasing cars that are currently being refurbished and stored by BCA as an inventory is built up ahead of launch later this year.

 

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Chris Wright

Chris Wright

Chris Wright has been covering the automotive industry nationally and internationally for 30 years. Following spells with consumer titles he became News Editor of Automotive Management (AM), Editor of Automotive International, International Editor for Detroit-based Automotive News, and Editor of Dealer Update. He has also co-authored several FT Management Reports and contributes regularly to Justauto.com

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