Contactless Services Feature Availability Update
During the pandemic, many of our dealer partners have participated in CarGurus’ Contactless Services offering, which gives dealerships the flexibility to opt in or opt out to advertising a range of contactless services that they make available to prospective buyers.
Given the current national lockdown restrictions and after talking with many of our dealers, we have decided to temporarily suspend the availability of “free test drive at home” and “private dealer appointments” from the menu of advertisable services. These services will not appear on listings at this time. Once the lockdown restrictions ease, dealers will be able to opt back into these services.
We know that the nature and timing of government restrictions differ from country to country, and we believe this approach helps to reduce confusion for consumers and best serves our dealers.
CarGurus is committed to supporting both our dealers and consumers in the UK, and to supporting the community at large as we all work together to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Tips for identifying and reaching your larger market in 2021
Digital innovation is constantly changing the car business. A dealership can no longer simply post stock to its website and expect that to be enough to bring in buyers. The internet opens up a world of possibilities, and it takes a well-executed, coordinated effort to truly capitalise on its potential and draw attention to everything your dealership has to offer.
The cars on your lot could be matched with potential buyers from much further afield than you might think. With some planning and analysis and using a variety of platforms, your staff can cultivate a strategy for finding and reaching a customer base that extends far beyond your local market.
Leadership changes at CarGurus: welcoming Jason Trevisan as CEO
We’re happy to share that Jason Trevisan has been appointed CarGurus’ Chief Executive Officer. Trevisan, formerly our Chief Financial Officer and President of International, has been with CarGurus since 2015. Langley Steinert, our founder, will become Executive Chairman and remain involved in our long-term product innovation and corporate strategy. He will also continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Sam Zales will continue as President and COO, doing what he loves best: leading our commercial operations including sales, account management, customer service, and marketing, He’ll also resume oversight of CarGurus’ international business and lead the company’s new digital wholesale operations, including newly-acquired CarOffer.
Read more in the press release.
WATCH: CarGurus executives share their vision at Navigate
Last year, CarGurus President and COO Sam Zales and CPO Tom Caputo took the virtual stage to share their vision of where the company is headed, including how we’ve adapted to these turbulent times and the future of CarGurus offerings for dealers. Want the highlights? Watch the 5-minute video below.
CarGurus and PistonHeads combining dealer offerings
It’s been an eventful start to the year, with a new lockdown across the UK and our response of providing a free month of February to all our dealer customers. But just like you, we aren’t sitting back and waiting for lockdown to end: we’re continuing to improve and innovate in our ongoing effort to be a true partner for you. In that vein, we’re pleased to announce that CarGurus and PistonHeads are unifying their dealer product offerings, giving UK car dealers single-point access to a broader audience of informed buyers and maximum visibility for their vehicles.
Dealer Spotlight with Carbase
At CarGurus, we believe our dealers have valuable stories and insights worth sharing. Today, we’re featuring Carbase.
The History
Carbase was founded in 2003 to serve the communities around Bristol with quality used car sales. From humble beginnings and a handful of used cars on sale, Carbase grew into one of the UK’s leading used car supermarkets. Carbase now operates over 5 locations around the South West of England, stocking over 3000 used cars on sale at any one time.
Dealer Stories with CarGurus
Hear what our customers have to say about the CarGurus Difference. In this short video, we drop in on Vertu Motors, Shelbourne Motor Group, Jardine Motors Group amongst others and hear what they have to say about their experience as a CarGurus partner.
Interested in the benefits a CarGurus and PistonHeads partnership can bring to your dealership? Call now on 0808 164 9352 or click here to request a call from our team.
WATCH: Navigate Fireside chat with CarGurus CEO Langley Steinert
At Navigate last year, CarGurus founder and CEO Langley Steinert sat down with Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein to chat. During their conversation, Langley spoke about Covid as a catalyst for change in the industry and highlighted the importance of innovation—by dealers and CarGurus. Watch this 3-minute video for the highlights:
Subscriptions discounts renewed once again for new lockdown
In what may seem like a bit of deja vu, the UK enters 2021 with another Covid-19 lockdown. We understand how challenging this is for dealers, and as a result, we’re reinstating a discount program for our customers – as we did in April, May, June and December.
This discount enables dealers to continue to engage with buyers via the CarGurus and PistonHeads platforms during the lockdown. On CarGurus, that includes driving contactless sales and delivery (“click and collect”) where allowed by Government restrictions.
Specifically:
- We’re making all UK marketplace subscriptions free for the month of February.
- Your subscription will still be active, your contract with us will remain effective, and you will continue to receive leads.
- CarGurus will continue to offer subscribing dealers a free trial of our Area Boost product to expand the reach of vehicles available for delivery.
We hope you stay safe and that your business gets back to normal as quickly as possible.
Learn more in the Dealer Resource Centre, including how our Contactless Services options let you highlight the safety measures you’re taking to sell cars in today’s environment.
2020 in review: product updates, support through Covid, top content, and more
As we all know, 2020 has been an unprecedented year that has challenged us in ways we never anticipated. Dealership shutdowns, economic uncertainty, and more—yet, our dealer partners have pressed on, demonstrating resilience in the face of extraordinary circumstances.
Despite today’s unique environment, we’ve all accomplished a lot, so we took a moment to reflect on everything that’s been done in 2020. Here are some of the highlights.