How car dealerships will change
The car? It can now be bought in the Metaverse. EU rules have changed the world of dealers, who are fewer and fewer in Italy
If in the last period the Web has been filled with sites such as Carsforsale.com, MotorK and Auto Scout 24, just to name a few of the most widespread, it is because the way of buying cars, traditionally linked to the car showrooms of the past, in where to spend the Saturday afternoon (there was no spot that didn't end with the invitation "come and try the new model in our dealerships on the weekends") has changed.
THE BREAKING OF THE VBER RULES
Also and above all because the sector has been revolutionized by those Community rules that are labeled as Vertical Block Exemption Regulations to protect competition in particular sectors, above all in those in which the so-called "vertical agreements" are in force, with the final aim of eliminating practices that limit the ability of consumers to choose their suppliers.
It also concerns the automotive sector because it affects all those exclusive distribution agreements between the manufacturer and the distributor, such as those between manufacturers and dealers to appear in certain geographical areas. Or, again, regulation 1400/2002 with which the obligation to carry out coupons and repairs at an official dealer of the brand during the period of validity of the guarantee was eliminated in the EU. This regulation will expire on 31 May 2023 and the new Ber 461/2010 will come into force.
THE CAR CAN BE ORDERED ONLINE
The new Regulation, which came into force in June 2022, promotes the so-called 'dual distribution', which plans to combine digital and physical sales, and also introduces the figure of the agent as an alternative to that of the dealer, with a weakened role both in the relationship with the customer is with the House having hitherto commercially represented the brand through its own structures. In fact, since last June, manufacturers have been able to sell vehicles and services both through their own independent distributors and in direct competition with the latter, using digital channels to interact with end customers.
And while the dealer acts on his own behalf on behalf of the brand, as an agent he acts in the name and on behalf of the manufacturer. Therefore, price lists and discounts are provided directly by the car manufacturer rather than by the retailer.
MORE COMPETITION, LOWER PRICES?
The hope of the EU is to facilitate the end user, increasing competition and lowering prices: a breath of fresh air for consumers who, aided by inflation, hope to get the best offer. In reality, between the chip crisis, increases in raw materials and generalized price increases, no tangible benefits have been recorded so far. And electric cars seem to cost more and more.
WHAT DO BRANDS (REALLY) DO?
Also because the car manufacturers, taken by the energy transition in progress, have not done much at the moment. And if we exclude the presentation of the Stellantis group of their showroom in the Metaverse at the last CES in Las Vegas, which seems more like a way to put a flag in the virtual space that everyone is talking about than something concrete, or BMW's plans for bring internet sales to 25% by 2025, so far there are few manufacturers like Volvo, which in 2022 invested in Carwow, an online marketplace.
HOW MANY ARE THERE AND HOW ARE THE DEALERS IN ITALY?
The dealerships breathe a sigh, which in any case are fewer and fewer, if we consider that in our country in 2007 there were 2,785, while in June 2020 there were just 1,294 surviving, 35% less than in 2019. And then there was the pandemic and the car crisis that affected a sector whose total turnover was around 40 million, according to the report drawn up by Italia Bilanci in collaboration with Federauto , the association of dealers.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/come-cambieranno-i-concessionari-dauto-nel-futuro/ on Sun, 29 Jan 2023 07:16:10 +0000.