BLOOMFIELD HILLS—Ready to buy a used car entirely online? Bloomfield Hills-based Penske Automotive Group Inc. (NYSE: PAG) and Atlanta-based Cox Automotive Inc. are ready to sell you one that way.
Officials at the two companies have announced the launch of CarShop, a fully automated technology platform to enable the online retail sale of used vehicles. The automated online buying platform, which is owned exclusively by Cox Automotive, allows consumers to select from high-quality, preowned vehicles through PAG’s U.S. CarShop used vehicle SuperCenters and franchised dealerships.
Cox Automotive’s patent-pending artificial intelligence retail technology, Esntial Commerce, powers CarShop’s U.S. digital platform to provide consumers with an automated, 100 percent online vehicle purchase. Features include personalized monthly payments across all inventories, trade-in capabilities, application, approval for financing, digital contracting, and digital signatures.
Esntial Commerce offers payment personalization based on the consumer’s risk profile, selected vehicle, and preferred deal structure using an arttificial intelligence machine learning algorithm. Offering actual financing and the ability to immediately transact online allows consumers to move forward confidently, knowing their financing has been approved.
This industry-first scalable eCommerce platform and its artificial intelligence enable automation for retail operations so that consumers can:
- Instantly compare up to four vehicles
- Receive personalized payments for the consumer’s selected vehicles based on each consumer’s credit profile, including payments for taxes, titling, and other fees
- Select their payment terms based on credit profile
- Add aftermarket protection products
- Determine trade-in value
- Receive approval for financing
- Complete and sign deal paperwork online
- Make any required down payment
- Arrange for delivery directly to the consumer’s preferred location, either at home or one of CarShop’s U.S. locations
“Over the last year the PAG and CAI teams have collaborated on this unparalleled technology that delivers a completely digital solution to the marketplace,” PAG Chair Roger Penske said. “This new digital platform meets the digital-first demands of today’s customer while providing us with the opportunity to offer our customers 100% online functionality.”
Added Cox Automovie president Steve Rowley: “Penske’s CarShop powered by Cox Automotive Esntial Commerce delivers personalization, F&I automation, and a seamless closing of the transaction when buying a vehicle online. No one has delivered an automotive eCommerce solution that can scale to support the industry’s transformation for retailers and for consumers – until now. As our solution matures, we expect it to drive both consumer satisfaction and profitability.”
PAG has launched this fully functioning digital platform in select markets through its CarShop used vehicle SuperCenters at www.carshop.com. Cox Automotive continues to focus on development to further enhance the user experience, operational efficiencies, market expansion and to add vehicle inventory.
