As the used-car market continues to grow, consumers are increasingly turning to online platforms to shop for vehicles. These platforms allow buyers to compare prices and features of different cars and then purchase them with a click. The challenge is that these websites do not require any personal information from their customers and it’s difficult for buyers to know what they’re getting into before they buy. Cox Automotive has developed a platform called Carvana that allows car buyers to see how much they’ll be paying for each car in advance so they can make an informed decision about which vehicle is best for them.
The penske cox develop used-vehicle online buying platform is a new e-commerce platform developed by Cox Automotive. It will allow car buyers to see the total cost of their purchase before they make a decision on whether or not to buy.
Cox Automotive Inc. announced the launch of an artificial intelligence-powered e-commerce platform aimed at providing used-car purchasers with a better knowledge of their expenses from the start of the sales process.
The platform, according to Cox Automotive, a division of Atlanta-based media, communications, and car conglomerate Cox Enterprises Inc., includes an AI-based payment calculator that provides consumers with a more accurate estimate from the outset, resulting in fewer surprises at the end.
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Cox said it created the platform with help from Penske Automotive Group, which operates CarShop, a used-car retailer with online and in-store locations. Penske said that it has begun utilizing Cox’s Esntial Commerce platform, which was launched in late July. Later this year, Cox intends to make the platform available to other used-car dealers.
Penske, the platform’s initial user, wouldn’t disclose how many people had used it. Penske’s CarShop made nearly $1 billion in sales last year after selling around 53,000 cars.
According to Michael Kabcenell, vice president of retail strategy at Penske, which is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., the company previously utilized another e-commerce platform that enabled consumers to complete a purchase online.
According to Penske, the older platform gave customers a general idea of what they could afford, but it didn’t allow shoppers to see financing options for specific vehicles, and customers didn’t know what their payments would be until they received a final credit approval at the end of the sales process, according to Mr. Kabcenell.
He said, “This capacity, this AI, enables us…to bring finance to the front of the process.”
Cox isn’t the only business using cutting-edge technology to get into the burgeoning used-car industry. Carvana Co., an online car seller, said it is using artificial intelligence (AI) and other forms of data analysis to provide customers with near-real-time trade-in assessments, financing options, and pricing on extended service contracts, all of which can give shoppers a firm estimate of their monthly loan payment on a specific vehicle. The technology is exclusive to Carvana, which generated $5.59 billion in online sales in 2023.
A number of used-car businesses will be allowed to utilize Cox’s e-commerce platform. Many used-car dealerships are behind the times when it comes to technology, according to John Loehr, managing director of AlixPartners LLP’s automotive and industrial business.
The aim, according to Kelly Mulroney, senior vice president of product and engineering at Cox Automotive, is to “enable the industry as a whole to transform.”
According to Mr. Kabcenell of Penske, online sales platforms usually provide consumers with a loan preapproval, which predicts how much money they may borrow. These estimates may be inaccurate since they don’t account for a variety of factors, such as whether the customer wants an extended warranty, he said.
By taking such factors into consideration, the Cox method enables auto buyers to determine what they would spend for a particular vehicle more accurately, he added. According to him, the site also enables customers to get finance information for several cars at the same time.
According to him, the platform can modify financing conditions on the fly when consumers’ preferences vary, such as the amount of down payment they wish to make.
A customer with excellent credit, for example, could offer a $1,000 down payment on a $28,796 Nissan Leaf in 2023. According to the algorithm, the monthly payment on a 60-month loan would be $569 in that case. If the customer chooses to put down $2,000, the system will adjust the monthly payment to $551.
According to Cox, the algorithm compares the credit profiles of prospective new customers to those of individuals with similar credit profiles who have made comparable purchases in the past. According to Cox, the platform uses this information to provide prospective buyers with financing alternatives for the particular cars mentioned in their search results.
Market data from Cox’s Kelley Blue Book car value service, its Dealertrack platform for dealers, and other Cox systems that offer historical dealer transaction and contract information are used to create the estimations, according to Cox.
Ms. Mulroney of Cox said, “That aggregate data is what enables us to drive this automation.”
John McCormick can be reached at [email protected].
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Cox Develops E-Commerce Platform to Give Used-Car Buyers a Clearer Picture of Costs. Reference: pag automotive group.
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