Rockar Hyundai: Hyundai’s new digital sales channel

Hyundai is entering the world of online sales with a new project, Rockar Hyundai, that aims to offer an online, salesman free, way to buy and own a Hyundai.

The death of the car showroom has long been predicted, and there’s no doubt that the car sales model we’re used to – visit showroom, see salesman, get upsold, leave with something you didn’t want – is going to die a death as the world and his dog get used to living, and buying, online.

Now, Hyundai has decided there’s sufficient appetite for buying online to create a new digital platform for Hyundai buyers that removes the salesman from the equation and lets car purchases – and service followup – go properly digital. Enter Rockar Hyundai.

Hyundai has partnered with Rockar to create an online platform for sales which will allow customers to research, test drive, get a part-ex price, get a finance deal and buy and service their new Hyundai without having to fall prey to a sales pitch.

Hyundai hasn’t been brave enough to forsake a real world presence entirely for their Rockar venture, so they’re having a store at Bluewater as the face of Rockar Hyundai  – a shopping mall that sees a footfall of 27 million a year (although it’s probably only 2 million shopaholics who keep coming back) – and is smack bang in the middle of one of the wealthiest areas of the UK.

Tony Whitehorn, Hyundai’s UK boss, said:

Rockar Hyundai is a highly innovative and enticing addition to our existing Dealer Network.  It offers the consumers an easy and flexible alternative to buying and owning a car without undermining the strength and infrastructure within our existing sales network.  It is unprecedented in the UK Automotive Industry and is the shape of things to come.

Hyundai UK is developing a more integrated approach towards the way we retail cars, reflecting the changing ways in which people shop and the use of technology in the retail environment.   Rockar Hyundai is an integral part of this, and to our continuous commitment to delivering an outstanding customer experience across our entire business.

Tony’s making all the right noises (Rockar Hyundai won’t undermine our dealer network etc.), but it’s clear this is yet another nail in the coffin of traditional dealerships.

But, for those who want it (and there are many), you will be able,  from November, to buy and service your Hyundai just as you would a washing machine.