NEW YORK/DETROIT (Reuters) – Auto retailers have been slow to embrace e-commerce, but the coronavirus pandemic is changing that.
FILE PHOTO: Used cars are shown for sale in National City, California, U.S., June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
Online traffic has risen even as in-person showroom traffic has disappeared. Auto dealers are embracing digital tools to close deals without a handshake and arranging for vehicles to be picked up or delivered without requiring customers to come to their stores.
U.S. new vehicle sales will be hit hard by the pandemic. Demand dropped 13% in the first 19 days of March, according to research firm J.D. Power. In especially hard-hit markets like Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago, where the virus has spread quickly, demand slumped as much as 22%.
Moody’s Analytics said on Friday the new and used vehicle markets could slump by as much as 20% from 2019 levels and stay depressed into 2021.
Based on a survey of some 40 dealers,…
Source Reuters Tech News
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