Porsche Tries Selling Cars Online

These test phases are intended to let customers run through the purchasing process and pay a deposit. The contract would then still be signed at a participating car dealers, where the vehicle would also be picked up.
Eligible vehicles: new and used cars in stock, available at participating car dealers (25 in the US and 88 in Germany).
The e-payment step can be conducted faster if customers rely on the default payment method they stored to their Porsche ID account.
Customer process:
- Choose a car model and configuration,
- Choose to pay cash, a leasing option (long-term leasing or lease-purchase), or a credit-based financing option,
- Choose insurance offers,
- Upload documents for verifying the buyer’s identity,
- Upload pictures of former car to run the assessment process if traded-in at the car dealer,
- Pay €2,500 deposit online,
- Validate order / car reservation.

Making room for car dealers as the e-commerce sector keeps gaining ground. Even if this car maker isn’t pioneering when it comes to selling cars online, they intend to anticipate their customers’ potential reliance on online channels. They also aim for younger customer segments.
Quantified target: 10% online sales in Germany by 2025.

In the US, online plans for selling cars have trouble taking off since independent dealers are powerful and regulations are in place to protect them. Hence, their intent to run pilot experiments on this complex market as well as on their home market (Germany), where Porsche claims many more participating dealers.
Tesla was one of the first manufacturers to have featured an online reservation service for their vehicles. Other car makers, such as Polestar, Audi and DS, have since tested online sales.

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