Vehicle subscription service Carly says it will be an asset to dealerships across Australia.
Despite fears vehicle subscription would see the conventional dealership retail model up-ended, Carly chief executive Chris Noone tells AutoTalk that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Noone says he’s deep in conversation with all major dealer groups and several major OEM brands with collaboration deals coming in the near future.
“We absolutely will be an opportunity for dealers to add value to the business models,” he says.
“Dealerships using I-Motor services now have the ability to offer Carly subscription services on their websites, meaning dealers can stop chasing the lowest possible price on outright sales and offer consumers the more affordable access to cars they’re looking for,” Noone explains.
“The current retail model still requires consumers to physically enter the dealership to access vehicle ownership, but this is an opportunity to put unsold assets to use by offering them as a true subscription without having to leave the couch,” he highlights.
Car subscription enable franchised dealers to seamlessly introduce a new revenue source to their dealership by providing their customers with the opportunity to subscribe to either the newest vehicles on sale, or potentially harder-to-sell stock, all whilst viewing it on the dealer’s website.
The concept leverages web traffic already visiting a dealer’s website and requires no additional marketing expenditure despite several industry experts encouraging dealers to spending more on digital marketing.
Noone says there are other players in the space offering what appears to be advertising as a subscription service, but has all the hallmarks of a typical finance model.
“When you see an Australian Financial Service License number on their website and you dig further to find their product is locking customers into a long-term, multi-year, payment scheme with high break costs on a contract, that’s just financing and not subscription,” he warns.
“Generation-Y, which is getting around the 40-year age, is aware that life can change as soon as six or 12 months; it’s not like the old days when your life changed in increments of 10 years and you had a different car for each era,” Noone says.
“Consumers want to have flexibility and a true subscription service offers that,” he adds.
Carly announced back in June it would collaborate with the Sutton dealer group in Sydney by supplying vehicles for the subscription program. The arrangement with I-Motor means Carly subscriptions can be readily added to over 700 automotive dealer websites currently managed by I-Motor. The service is being offered to the network of automotive dealers currently providing vehicles to Carly and all other dealers not currently serviced by either party.
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