‘We’re not afraid of it’: Motor dealers have their say on online car sales

On Tuesday, the German car manufacturer — whose vehicles in Ireland include Volkswagen, Skoda, Seat, Cupra and Audi — said it would begin selling cars directly online to customers in Ireland from 2026.

It will be a significant change to the traditional dealership model it currently operates, with its director of sales transformation and customer experiences Alicia O’Connor saying customers want faster, transparent and more convenient transactions.

“Irish customers are comfortable buying online,” she said. 

However, many still want the tactile experience of going to a showroom, getting into a vehicle and taking it for a test drive. With the future sales model they have the best of both worlds. 

Volkswagen Group Ireland emphasised that under this model, retailers on forecourts would play an “integral” role in the new vehicle sales process.

“Tesla started it first,” Mr Murphy said. “What Tesla do is, you just go to some lot somewhere in some distribution yard to collect the car. The difference with what Volkswagen is planning is you can still come to the dealer. It’s a combination of the two.” 

Mr Murphy said whereas traditionally the car would be sold to the dealer and then onto the customer, this will see the manufacturer sell directly to the consumer, with the car dealer acting as an agent in between. He said the car dealer would still have a vital role to play in this regard, and that will not change under such a system.

This future of buying a car may have sounded unlikely even a decade ago, but it is already a reality for many dealers around the country.

Chris Lawlor, who owns and run Lawlor Motors in Parkwest in Dublin, said while he expected people to still come to car showrooms to try them out for themselves, covid showed that would not necessarily always be the case.

“During the pandemic, people were willing to buy cars online because they had no choice,” he said. “Test drives weren’t allowed. It was an eye-opener at the time. But as soon as they got the green light to travel again, customers did come back.” 

Mr Murphy said there was a marked shift in customer behaviour during the pandemic which has been sustained in the years that have followed.

“We were all shunted to home,” he said. “So we started selling cars online pretty quick. And lo and behold, people bought them.

“The technology is there to show a car as good as you can see it in person. Photos are good quality, videos are good quality. Eventually, they still always come to view it before they buy it.” 

He said that it’s become a fixture in what Blackwater Motors do since then, with customers frequently paying a deposit online before coming in in person to buy the car outright.

Mr Murphy said a very high percentage of those who pay a deposit follow through and buy the car.

“Before, a customer might have been going to a few different dealers before settling on the car they wanted to buy,” he said. “Now they’re watching videos and seeing the one they want before they come in.

“This is coming for a while. The world is changing. Consumers are changing. Covid proved that.” 

Mr Lawlor said he could see the kind of plans envisaged by Volkswagen being particularly popular for those who are trading in a one-year-old car for the newest model as not a great deal may have changed between the two editions of the car. He also said it could prove popular for fleet purchases such as vans.

Like others, he said he has had success with online videos and providing detailed descriptions of cars, particularly if the customer has far to travel to come to see the vehicle. But, he said, the desire and need to come to a showroom will still linger in the years to come.  

“In general though, a car is only second to a house regarding big purchases you can make in your life,” he said. “And you wouldn’t buy a house without giving it a walk around first.”