NEW TOOL COULD SHAKE UP USED CAR LISTINGS MARKET
Competition is a good thing. Auto dealers are keenly aware of that. They might have the hottest products one year, and then the next year a rival comes up with a slick new design or innovative technology. Then your dealership’s giant showroom window becomes a great place to watch customers drive by en route to your competitor.
Starting first in B.C., and then with plans to move across the country, a new competitor is entering the fray for the dealer and consumer used vehicles listing marketplace. Details of the new site, www.rides.ca were unveiled at the New Car Dealers Association of B.C.’s (NCDABC) annual conference in Whistler, B.C. in September. You can read the article about the site in this issue.
One interesting thing about this site is that the organizers say it was developed by car dealers, for car dealers, and stemmed largely from dealer complaints with the current providers. It is also owned mostly by the NCDABC, which is a bold and entrepreneurial move by the association. Many dealers from across the province are also investors, which means they have a built-in incentive to support the site.
My gut instinct when I first heard about www.rides.ca several months ago, was that the association might have a supportive audience for dealers, but that if the product wasn’t really robust, it wouldn’t last for long. But after watching a demo from the site’s creators, and having a chance to kick around inside the beta version, the site has robust technology and plenty of sizzle. It also has lots of built in tools to help car buyers and sellers connect with dealers which also helps generate actionable leads.
The challenge for any new entrant in this marketplace will be to ensure that there are enough used cars listed for it to be a healthy ecosystem. That includes having enough private buyers and sellers that it becomes more than a dealer site. Organizers say their pricing model is also disruptive and that should help build support.
Competition can be disruptive, painful, and is often unwelcomed by some and heartily embraced by others. But true competition means the site will have to stand on its own merits.
If dealers, even those who are investors, aren’t successful at buying and selling used cars by using the site, then they will still use whatever means available to them to succeed.
The reality is there is room in the marketplace for more players, and the competition will put pressure on all parties to better compete, improve their service and offerings and adjust their pricing. Competition tends to do that.
