Vikram Chopra, Co-founder & CEO, CARS24
There are over 500 million internet users today enabling Indian consumers to adopt online commerce for fashion, grocery and electronics into their daily lives with sufficient access to information in order to make an informed choice. While online retailing is primarily driven by internet proliferation in India, which is growing year-on-year, the Indian used car market is yet to benefit from this. And the introduction of online buying of cars as a concept by credible players will help drive this shift.
From a business point of view, COVID-19 is a disruption, and disruptions work by clearing the way for underlying trends to find the mainstream and become dominant. While the industry, in parts, has been adapting to digitalization, it’s interesting to know that the willingness to order online increased during the pandemic; 62% of buyers on average would consider buying a car online. (Source: Google Auto Gear Shift India 2020 report)
[box type=”info” align=”” class=”” width=””]Thus, the pandemic has definitely accelerated the surge in the Indian used car segment, especially for e-commerce used car players. While most businesses were able to move to online platforms during the pandemic, the born-digital companies were able to achieve their plans sooner than predicted, as the pandemic acted as a catalyst. Since the pandemic outbreak, interest in buying a car online has increased significantly.[/box]
The Indian used auto market is a $60BN industry that has been unusually slow to embrace e-Commerce. This revolution was overdue. Cars are a very large purchase for most families and the whole process is unpleasant and fraught with danger. But at least now buyers looking for higher-quality pre-loved cars have the option to buy from reputable sellers.
Additionally, the customers love the idea of having tens of thousands of cars in their pocket without having to go from one dealership to another in search of what they want. This is further being fuelled by the efforts of e-commerce players to save customers valuable time and money, allowing them to skip the dealership and shop from the comfort of home or on the go via their smartphones. Their aim is to offer an easy, transparent car buying experience to each and every customer across India, reaching all nooks and crannies.
Also, more and more full-stack players have been successfully driving the shift to online by taking control of the entire process and allowing customers to have fun- they handpick each and every car, make them as good as new at their technologically advanced refurbishment centres, provide financing options on every car, and last but not the least, deliver the car to customers’ doorstep with attractive return feature and warranty.
A car is still a dream for many in a country like India- purchasing a car has always been a matter of pride and an indication of one’s social status in the community. From being a status symbol and mode of transportation to a basic necessity and essential need, the desire for car ownership has changed over the years. Today, easy, and reasonable mobility solutions with financing options, are some of the most important elements considered by customers for vehicle ownership.
While the new car sales saw a decline in the recent past, the pre-owned car market has continued to grow exponentially over the past year and is now even larger than the new car market. Compared to its counterparts of the US and UK, 85 out of 100 people own a car; in China, 20 out of 100 people own a car. In India, car ownership stands at a meager 2%, creating a huge opportunity for the auto industry. And this is exactly the gap used car online e-commerce players are trying to fill by making the process simple and quick- hence, fulfilling the dream of millions of Indians of owning a car.
In the good old days, it was a hassle to look for a quality used car through a local dealer or ‘Classifieds’, as the entire process would take anywhere between a week, a month or a few months and it was tiresome too. The buyers were not quite sure about the condition of the car, the service history, the paperwork for transfer of ownership and most importantly trust! The question always remained “Am I buying the car from a trustworthy person?”
[box type=”success” align=”” class=”” width=””]An online platform is the catalyst that makes the process simpler, easier to use and available within a few clicks or taps on a smartphone. It is a means to give easy access to a maximum number of Indians through e-commerce apps and websites. Buyers have an option to filter the search across requirements such as price range, year of registration, number of kilometres the car was used to travel, a particular car model that they always wanted, the place where the car was registered originally which can help a buyer to easily select from the options that fit their preference.[/box]
The auto industry is in the process of experiencing internet penetration. The online trend will be in sync with the auto industry in the near future. With the advantage of a better experience of easy-to-use online purchase, free from middle-man and more affordable pricing, the pre-owned cars online industry will enable more people to afford a car. The main motive is to increase affordability through installment options or pricing, this can significantly increase the number of car users that presently stands at only 2 out of a group of 100 people in India.
It is often said “It’s the journey that matters over the destination” and buying a car is a journey in itself. A journey that is enhanced with an innovative and robust pre-owned vehicle platform, which creates a better reach to a wider audience empowering more and more Indians to afford their dream car online.
