Shopping online is commonplace these days and during the lockdown periods of the past two years, many companies stepped up their online business activities as their physical retail outlets were forced to close. While there was already a trend starting towards increased online stores selling by car companies, the pandemic accelerated things in order for brands to remain accessible to customers.
Today, virtually every brand has an online showroom which mainly provides information on the latest models and if a customer is ready to make a purchase, the process can be started online as well. However, in some countries, physical presence is still required to complete the transaction as documents need to be officially signed.
Now Fiat has come out with what it says is the world’s first metaverse-powered store, taking the digital experience to a more advanced level. Starting off in Italy, the Fiat Metaverse Store provides a more sophisticated ‘shopping experience’ and there’s a real FIAT expert – called a FIAT Product Genius – on hand to answer questions.
Sime Darby Motors, with its portfolio of different brands, offers a wide range of new models across the consumer spectrum. At the same time, its various subsidiaries will have pre-owned units that customers may have traded-in, broadening its range of offerings.
Many of the pre-owned vehicles are managed by Sime Darby Auto Selection (SDAS), a unit of Sime Darby Motors which handles used vehicles. Now, SDAS has an online store to provide additional convenience to customers shopping for used vehicles.
The SDAS online store at simedarbyautoselection.com.my offers an easy way to search through the wide range of used vehicles (some of which are nearly new). There are up to 300 vehicles of multiple brands listed, and they are not limited to Sime Darby Motors’ franchise brands such as Ford, BMW, Hyundai, Land Rover, Porsche, etc.
Thoroughly inspected vehicles
Every used vehicle listed by SDAS has undergone a thorough inspection process to ensure it is in the best possible condition and quality. The website also comes with user-friendly features that enable scheduling of car inspections and appraisal appointments, service appointment and test-drive bookings, as well as the latest promotions and events.
The website will debut a ‘Spin Car’ feature which offers customers 360° interior and exterior view of vehicles, allowing customers to explore every detail of the vehicle they are interested in, from all angles.
Aiming to be a trusted used car dealer
“Along with our vision to be the trusted used car dealer, the team behind Sime Darby Auto Selection strives to offer premium quality used cars and excellent after-sales services to our customers. Sime Darby Auto Selection’s online used car store caters to all our customers’ needs. Those looking to buy a used car can browse our wide selection and schedule test drives, while those selling their cars may schedule appraisal appointments,” said the MD of Sime Darby Auto Selection, Vi Thim Juan.
“By leveraging on the power of the Internet and mobile technology, we are able to provide a seamless online used car trading experience for our customers, and we hope to leverage on this capability to grow our business even further,” he added.
Additional features such as loan calculators and booking transactions to enable placement of orders at any time, without the hassle of visiting a dealership, will be introduced at the online store in the near future.