Automotive News Canada - February 2021 - 8

* F E B R U A R Y 2 0 21

Aside from letting customers buy and service
a vehicle the traditional in-person way at a
dealership, Policaro Access lets them shop
online and then complete the deal with
dealership employees or with a fully digital,
contact-free approach.
PHOTO: POLICARO AUTO GROUP

Virtual luxury

COVID-19 pushes
retailers to ratchet up
their inventiveness
to generate sales

ery phase at the dealership with
sales staff.
Policaro Access sells vehicles three different ways: the traditional way at the dealership;
a hybrid involving shopping
online and then interacting with
By DOUG FIRBY
dealership employees; and an
and PERRY LEFKO
entirely contact-free approach.
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA
The latter includes a digital consultation, live vehicle
walkaround, self-service test
PREMIUM BRAND
drive - the customer can drive
dealerships, known for their
the vehicle without a consultant
tony showrooms and VIP serpresent - digital paperwork
vice, are breaking new ground
completion and home delivery
for online purchasing
that allows the vehiand servicing tools
cle to be tracked in
as customers slowly
real time.
shift to buying vehiThe program
cles with minimal or
offers a 24-hour sereven no face-to-face
vice kiosk that lets
contact.
customers book their
The Brampton, Ont.-based
appointment, drop off their vehiPolicaro Group, which sells
cle and keys, book a loaner vehiAcura, BMW, Lexus and
cle, track their service and pay
Porsche, launched Policaro
for it without going into the dealAccess, a program that had been
ership.
in development before the outCustomers can also use a
break. But last April, it was
valet service: the vehicle is
ramped up as COVID-19 restrictpicked up, serviced and sanied customer access to dealertized, and dropped off at customships.
er-designated loca " At least we had
tion.
options for our cusCustomers also
tomers, and we
are encouraged
could quickly pivot
to book road tests
at the height of the
online.
pandemic, " said
Policaro Access
Francesco Policaro,
has generated 300
group CEO. The
home deliveries
pandemic " really
of new vehicles,
forced us to take a
almost double what
look at our business
had been projected,
and how to deal
Policaro said.
with restrictions. "
" And on the
COVID-19 has
after-sales side,
taught dealers
we've realized
across all segments
efficiencies and
that they have to
cost-savings. "
offer consumers
Policaro: Customers
ONLINE FUTURE
at least a hybrid
can buy their vehicle in
purchase option
While digital-onthe manner that suits
as a " hedging bet
ly transactions
them best during the
against any disasmake up a small
COVID-19 pandemic,
ter, " said Robert
sliver of luxury-veincluding a completely
Karwel, senior man- contactless environment hicle sales, dealers
ager of the automo- highlighted by personal
said they expect
tive practice at J.D. service.
the trend will grow
PHOTO: POLICARO AUTO
Power Canada.
because online
" It's incumbent
buyers tend to be
upon luxury dealers to lead the
younger and more tech savvy.
way in giving a luxury-level
" I'd be hard-pressed to find
experience online. "
a client who hasn't used some
Policaro said his custompart of the online tools, " said Jay
ers are now doing most of their
McKeen, dealer principal at
research online and don't need
to go through the initial discovCONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

BEST PRACTICES

SPOTLIGHT

As retail moves online,
Genesis gets more physical
By DOUG FIRBY

With it, customers can buy a vehicle
whenever they want.
" We are never shut, " Trevisan said.
" You can buy a Genesis at 2 o'clock in
ALTHOUGH ITS VIRTUAL-SALES
the morning on a Sunday. "
strategy is considered a success, the
The online process also allows buyers
luxury offshoot of Hyundai will create
to avoid the downsides of the dealership
Genesis Customer Experience
experience.
Centres at 30 locations that
" When you walk into a
have been used for vehicle
dealership, you lose control of
deliveries.
the process, " Trevisan said.
These centres are next
" When you're online, you can
to, or, in some cases, inside
do everything in a comfortable
Hyundai dealerships, said
environment. There's no presRichard Trevisan, brand direcsure. It's giving control back to
tor for Genesis Motors Canada.
the consumer. "
These are not sales outTo build the online tool,
lets, he said, but places where
Genesis Canada worked with
Trevisan:
" When
buyers can see Genesis vehiMotoinsight, a Toronto-based
you're online, you
cles and learn more about the
developer of auto-retail softcan do everything
brand. The first of the 30 cenware, Trevisan said.
in a comfortable
tres are set to begin construcGenesis vehicles ordered
environment.
tion this year.
online are delivered to one of
There's no
Genesis has been sellthe 30 Hyundai dealerships
pressure. It's
ing vehicles entirely online
that are designated distribugiving control
through the Genesis at Home
tion centres across Canada.
back to the
concierge process since enterGenesis sold 1,462 vehiconsumer. "
ing the Canadian market in
cles in 2020, down four per
PHOTO: GENESIS
2016.
cent from 1,525 in 2019. But
Research for Genesis also found that
Trevisan said the company did well
60 per cent of buyers want more online
against the overall luxury segment,
resources, prompting the company to
which fell 25 per cent last year compared
design a customer-focused tool that
with 2019, according to the Automotive
would enable a touchless buying experiNews Research and Data Center. - ANC
ence, Trevisan said.
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA

The 30 Genesis Customer Experience Centres across Canada will be located
either next to or inside Hyundai dealerships and allow buyers to see the vehicles
and learn about the brand without facing a sales pitch. R E N D E R I N G : G E N E S I S

Automotive News Canada - February 2021

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