The motor retail industry still struggles to give buyers the absolute convenience that consumers often encounter elsewhere in mainstream omnichannel retailing.
Discussions around the need for a seamless, frictionless buying experience as consumers window-shop from their sofas and then frequently decided to transact in showrooms are continuing today, more than a decade after automotive leaders first considered the need to join up the ‘bricks and clicks’ modern customer journey.
The complexity of car sales, with its inherent requirements to provide consumer finance, part-exchange valuations, settlements and breadth of vehicle choice, while involving OEMs, dealers and third party suppliers in fulfilling a transaction, means that the goal is still to be realised.
Yet great progress is being made.
For the ambition to become reality, the future must be be where success depends less on individual products, departments or organisations and more on connected relationships.
Individual processes have been digitised, now these need connecting, linking dealerships, finance companies, carmakers and technology providers around a shared view of the customer, using data to remove friction rather than create complexity.
And it means recognising that technology is only valuable when it strengthens human relationships. Success will come with making the customer journey feel effortless.
In a discussion panel at Keyloop’s recent Fusion Live event in London, Canadian motor retailer Andy Caletti, who owns Ontario dealerships Belleville Toyota, Erin Park Lexus and Erin Park Toyota, said the challenge is often less about customer-facing technology and more what happens behind the scenes.
“We work with multiple vendors and multiple systems,” he said.
“Too often those systems contain conflicting data. What we really need is one intelligent view that allows us to have better conversations with customers.”
His dealer group became one of the early adopters of Keyloop’s Fusion platform in Canada largely because of this challenge.
“We were tired of paying multiple third parties to take our data, process it and sell it back to us so we could use it,” Caletti (pictured) said.
“If we can spend more time working with our own data and less time moving information between systems, we can deliver a better experience.”
Dealers risk never catching up
Rapid progress is vital, because Caletti believes customers may be streets ahead already.
They are well informed, he said, and increasingly they are using AI tools to compare offers, research products and validate dealership claims before making purchasing decisions.
“Our guests are sitting in the showroom using ChatGPT to ask whether they’re getting the best deal available,” Caletti said.
Dealers’ sales teams can no longer rely on information asymmetry. Instead, they must focus on transparency, trust and expertise. “If we don’t understand the tools customers are using, we’ll get left behind,” Caletti warned.
The question is no longer whether businesses should adopt artificial intelligence. It is whether they can keep pace with customers who already have.
Black Horse Motor Finance has begun pilots with AI agents to maintain contact with customers, explained its digital and retention manager Sarah Lidster.
“It’s about ensuring that everybody receives relevant communication while allowing people to focus on meaningful conversations.”
She sees enormous potential, but also a clear prerequisite. “Our data has to be in the right place first,” she said. “For a lender, data is our biggest asset.”
Car finance is a source of uncertainty
Lidster noted that Black Horse’s research suggests that while finding and researching vehicles has become easier, finance remains a significant source of uncertainty.
But it is a feature of the buying process that has become vital. Historically, finance was often introduced late in the purchasing process.
“Now customers are looking at monthly payments much earlier,” she said. “They might know which car they want, but ultimately they’re asking what they can afford each month.”
BMW Group UK’s head of network digitalisation Mark Webster, who leads network digitalisation and oversees systems supporting traditional dealer and agency sales models, said customers increasingly expect flexibility in how they engage with brands.
“Customers like having one stock and one price, but they also like the ability to do lots of things at home. They can start their journey digitally and continue it either at home or with a retailer, depending on their preference.”
For consumers, this flexibility is becoming an expectation, not a differentiator.
Webster (pictured) sees AI creating opportunities to improve retailer efficiency, support lead nurturing and enhance customer interactions, but stressed the importance of maintaining premium customer experiences. “We need to make sure we’re using it in the right way,” he said.
BYD UK’s Effy Pan, who is the brand’s AI and digitalisation manager, said AI is already transforming how the national sales company supports its BYD dealership network, to give them answers and support more quickly. Dealers have often relied on lengthy policy documents and technical manuals to find information. That needs to change. “Retailers don’t want to search through a 200-page PDF to find one answer,” Pan said. “AI can make information much more accessible.”
Foundations built on customer data
Across the industry, customer information remains fragmented between manufacturers, dealerships, lenders and technology providers. The OEM has information about the vehicle. The dealer has information about the customer relationship. The lender has information about the finance agreement.
“There’s still work to do in connecting those three parties,” said Lidster.
For decades, manufacturers, dealers and lenders have all claimed a primary relationship with the customer. Lidster said. “Actually, the customer probably isn’t owned by anyone except themselves.”
Instead, she argued that every organisation involved in the automotive journey has a role to play.
“We’re seeing much more collaboration now. Dealers, lenders and OEMs are increasingly recognising that they need each other’s data and insights.”
Connected cars are giving OEMs more insight into a vehicle’s ownership, however. At BMW Group UK, Webster described how connected car data is already changing relationships between retailers and customers, particularly in aftersales.
Rather than waiting for a customer to experience a problem, the OEM and its dealers can increasingly intervene proactively.
“We can identify potential issues and contact customers before they encounter them,” Webster said. “That creates a much better experience.”
The implications extend beyond traditional servicing as dealerships increasingly search for new ways to maintain aftersales revenue as EV adoption grows.
Connected vehicle technology here creates opportunities for more predictive and personalised engagement.
“Some of the latest sensor technology can predict tyre wear,” Webster noted. “That means retailers can contact customers before replacement becomes urgent.”
The shift effectively transforms aftersales from a reactive service operation into a proactive retention strategy where the dealership can position itself as the go-to expert advisor and problem solver. “That means maintaining regular contact and providing useful advice throughout ownership,” said Webster.