No-one in the retail motor industry underestimates the influence that What Car? has over the car-buying public. Is this a good thing, because an educated buyer is a good buyer who knows what they want? Or is it a bad thing, as car salespeople don’t get to flex their sales muscles properly because the buyer already knows it all?
We’re inviting your comments below.
What Car? claims that around a third of new car buyers check out prices on its website before buying. The site saw over 324,000 people use the price enquiry page in the first and third quarters of 2020 – Q2 vehicle sales were affected so much by Covid that this period aren’t an appropriate comparison. While a simple visit to the price page does not equate directly with a future car sale it can reasonably be seen as an indicator of car-buying activity.
Running its figures across the SMMT’s report that 476,590 private new cars were registered during the two periods, What Car? can reasonably claim that (after adjusting for people making multiple online visits) one third of the UK’s new car buyers used What Car? before buying a new vehicle.
So what do you think? Is What Car? taking the fun out of selling cars? Or is it an industry-wide boon to sales, with customers knowing what they want and where to get it?
Tell us what you think below in the comments.