Motorati connects customers to actual new cars online
Motorati the revolutionary online facility led by respected London dealer Clive Sutton, connects qualified new car buyers directly to franchised dealers. The new system has attracted a significant amount of interest amongst automotive retailers. This newly introduced facility provides an additional sales channel to those traditionally used for the sale of new cars.
Motorati is designed for consumers who have done their research and are ready to buy a car. Consumers are invited to submit their preferred choice of new vehicle specification on the Motorati website (motorati.co.uk). The system then broadcasts the purchase request to connected dealers nationwide. This in turn enables dealers matching the customer requirements to openly bid against one another in order to offer the consumer the best price and most closely-matched specification. They are then notified by SMS and an email of cars offered, and can choose a car based on price, specification, proximity or relative saving against list price. Once a selection has been made, the consumer pays a £200 deposit which the dealer deducts from the invoice price on delivery. The outcome is a free to use service for consumers, and dealers pay £200 for a committed sale.
Motorati’s clean interface is free from confusing offerings and is solely there for consumers to confirm the car they want to buy, putting them in the driving seat for the first time.
In the space of only a few months, a total of 120 dealers nationwide have now been fully signed up, representing a wide portfolio of brands including Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Ford, Peugeot, and Volkswagen. At the current rate, up to 500 retailers will be enrolled by the summer providing further choice of competitively priced vehicles to UK customers.
Having devised the Motorati concept in conjunction with Spookmedia, Clive Sutton says: “Since it’s unveiling, retailers are realising that the benefits gained by the system far outweigh those costs associated with conventional advertising which does not necessarily attract firm sales leads. With Motorati, dealers are contacted by prospects who have a genuine interest in buying a car. This new online system will assist dealers to achieve manufacturer targets particularly at month and quarter ends where bonus achievement and profitability is essential. With the increasing interest by retailers, we have had to employ further full time staff, and after this very encouraging start, we expect the network to expand at a pace.”
Brian Muirhead, the former CFO of AutoTrader, who is an investor in Motorati and has been influential in the development of the system, explains: “Following an in-depth analysis of the existing online motoring retailers, we recognised that there was no existing portal which provided consumers with a user-friendly interface for the purchase of new cars, and one which sought to meet their individual requirements. In addition dealers now have the additional opportunity to generate direct sales leads with an effective solution which saves both time and money.”
Consumers can click straight into configuring their new car by clicking on ‘Go’ on the home page. Motor retailers are able to register for the Motorati service straight away on motorati.co.uk. Registration costs nothing and there is no commitment to supply a minimum number of cars.
