Used Car Showrooms Begin Online Penetration

Nowadays, having a car is a priority need for most Indonesians. Having a car makes mobility for daily activities easier and definitely more comfortable.

No wonder that this need has driven the increase in car sales from year to year, including for used cars. In terms of sales of used cars, there was a special sales record in 2018. When the dollar appreciated against the rupiah, used car sales continued to increase.

Other than dollar appreciation, other factors that boosted the sales of used cars in 2018 included the odd/even car plate policy, the end of the year period, and the high demand during Eid al-Fitr.

Customers’ high demand for used cars was also experienced by the showroom mobil88. According to Carvaganza.com (December 20, 2018), mobil88 recorded sales of 21,000 cars from January to early December 2018. This figure was a 5% increase from the total sales of around 20,000 cars in 2017.

“The trend of most sought-after cars is still the same as that of last year, which is cars with a price that ranges from Rp80 million to Rp150 million. Meanwhile, the highest sales are still scored by big cities such as Jakarta, Bandung, and Surabaya,” mobil88 President Director Halomoan Fischer Lumbantoruan said.

Other than need, affordable prices make many people land their choice on buying used cars. Realizing the high demand of customers, used car dealers keep improving their services, especially in online marketing.

This is even more important because there’s been a shift in customer behavior in deciding what to buy, especially among the millennials.

Being tech savvy, millennials can get precise information about the value of a product, for example, through tools such as search, rating, and review (SRR). Millennials tend to look for detailed information on the internet before deciding to buy something.

“When they book a hotel room through an online booking site, then their decision-making for purchasing is determined by SRR. SRR allows consumers to get the best value of the product options available in the market so that decision-making shifts from brand consideration to value consideration,” Yuswohady, business and marketing expert who is also Inventure Managing Partner, told Sindonews.com (February 11, 2018).

Halomoan Fischer Lumbantoruan, as quoted by Otoasia.com, (21/12/18),  also admitted the change in consumer behavior. People nowadays tend to look for information first from the internet before deciding to buy something.

“In the past, when someone wanted to buy a used car, they would do window shopping, checking the cars one by one. Now it’s different; they would search for the car that suits them on the internet. They don’t want to waste their time, make phone calls, and such. They might just check three to five cars before deciding on one. This process is made easier by digitalization. That’s why we believe we should tap into it. We want (to give) more experience,” Fischer said.

Considering the opportunity, mobil88, as a subsidiary of PT Serasi Autoraya (SERA), is planning to provide an e-store.

“We already have the platform (website), but right now we can only see the cars, but we don’t get the experience like in a store. Later, our customers can feel as if they’re going to a store,” he said.

Operating in used car trade, mobil88, which is affiliated with Astra Group, will expand sales channels so that it will be easier for people to trade used cars through mobil88.

Online penetration is certainly carried out along with maintaining the quality of existing services. Operating 20 showrooms in Indonesian big cities, mobil88 with its 30 years of experience dares to offer buyback guarantee that the cars have not been involved in a crash or immersed in a flood. The chassis and engine numbers are guaranteed to match the numbers in the car registration and ownership documents. The odometer has not been wound back either. Please click this link to learn more about mobil88’s services.