Stellantis is aiming to put its stamp on the second-hand car market with the launch of what is said to be the UK’s biggest single manufacturer approved used scheme.
Known as Spoticar, it sees Stellantis – formed by the merger of the PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) in January – create a solitary programme for the majority of its brands, along with a website to market its cars and services.
Spoticar, which kicked off in France in 2019 and is established in eight other countries, was launched in the UK in June with around 13,000 used cars advertised on its site. It is due to completely replace the Citroën, Peugeot and Vauxhall approved used schemes and their online used car search facilities before the end of the year, including Vauxhall’s Network Q – the UK’s oldest approved used car scheme, founded in 1990 and widely regarded as the pioneer of the format. The ex-FCA brands will follow in the first quarter of 2022, although DS and Alfa Romeo will retain their own approved used programmes to delineate them as premium brands.
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Used cars from all the Stellantis brands – including DS and Alfa Romeo – will be advertised on the Spoticar website, along with dealer part-exchange models from other manufacturers, and the company hopes to capitalise on the amalgamation of marques for sale on a single website.
“Some customers search for a used vehicle by brand but some search generically,” Stellantis director of used vehicle operations Nick Richards told Autocar. “If a customer is looking to purchase a used SUV, at the moment we’re sending them to three different [ex-PSA] platforms instead of having them together on one – and, as a consequence, we’re dispersing our marketing budget. We have been trying to promote three different platforms and three different programmes, rather than getting the scale that comes from one.”
The company expects to sell close to 125,000 vehicles through Spoticar this year and is aiming for around 150,000 in 2022. The site also includes a part-exchange valuation tool and a finance quote calculator, which operate instantaneously (so users don’t have to fill out finance forms that are sent to dealers and await a response), and a vehicle reservation function will be added later this year, followed by an online-only sales option in 2022.
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You have to feel pretty sorry for dealerships when they're compelled to fork out money on updating branding. There's no competition laws there, you can't shop around for your banners and signs, you have to pay up to the single source or else.
Some years ago one of the UK's oldest Peugoet dealers closed for that very reason - the manufacturer dictating the game. The owner had updated the branding 5yr previous but the manufacturer insisted it be done again. This time the owner simply said stuff it.
Where once there were two Peugeot dealerships in our region, now there are none with the nearest dealer now being 40 miles away. Small fry I know but I know a few ex-loyal customers around here who've now changed brands.
Strange name, but it makes sense to do. It allows them to compete with the likes of Cinch head on. I wonder if they will do a premium version for DS/Alfa and link them together
How much did that brand name cost - do you get free stone chips, mismatched paint repairs and tar spots with every car?