Online Car Buying Site Clicklane Is ‘Exceeding Expectations,’ CEO Says
Car buying isn’t what it used to be. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Consumers increasingly have options for purchasing cars entirely online without ever having to visit a dealer. One of the newest entries into the online car buying market is Asbury Automotive’s Clicklane. The company’s CEO, David Hult, recently shared some good news about its striking success.
What is Clicklane?
Like its better-known rival, Carvana, Clicklane simplifies the car purchasing process by putting it online. However, Clicklane goes several steps beyond the strategy of Carvana.
First, it provides what the company calls penny-perfect trade-in values and penny-perfect loan payoffs. All you have to do to trade in your current vehicle is enter the VIN, and Clicklane will come up with an offer. It also breaks down exact figures based on local fees and taxes and even offers a loan marketplace that includes 30 lenders.
Speaking of loans, Clicklane says it offers a complete loan approval process online, making the entire process much more efficient than many of its competitors. Efficiency is also enhanced by the company’s ability to complete all document signing online through DocuSign.
Clicklane has really taken off
If all this sounds great to you, you’re apparently not alone. Alongside its parent company, Asbury, Clicklane has seen booming business recently, as Automotive News recently shared. In Q2 of 2021, Asbury reported a record net income of $152 million. Its reported total revenue in the quarter was $2.58 billion, up 79% from the year before.
In honor of these accomplishments, Clicklane CEO David Hult released a statement celebrating its success and Clicklane’s role in it. He reported, “This quarter, new inventory supply continued to be unpredictable, but our teams met the challenge and performed at record levels in revenue, volume, margins, net income [and earnings per share.].”
He went on to say that “In addition to this record performance, our online car buying platform, Clicklane, now fully active across all of our dealerships for the entire quarter, is exceeding our expectations, with its growth trajectory ahead of target.” Another indication of Asbury’s success is Hult’s recognition that the company is “tracking well” on its goal of more than doubling in size by 2025.
Car sales are through the roof
Asbury isn’t the only company in the automotive world to be experiencing increased sales. Many car manufacturers have been reporting similar trends.
Take Mazda, for example. Though the Japanese manufacturer had faced tough times in 2020 (alongside many other carmakers), 2021 has been a different story. In May 2021, Mazda experienced a 58.4% increase in sales compared to the same month in 2020. Two Mazda models that did particularly well in May 2021 were the CX-9 and the CX-30. The CX-9 saw its best month ever, selling 4,409 units. Similarly, the CX-30 broke its own previous record by selling 7,959 units.
Another manufacturer touting its impressive 2021 sales is Hyundai. The company recently announced that its sales were up 56% in May 2021 compared to the same month in 2020. This set a company record for Hyundai. Hyundai Sales Chief Randy Parker explained this success by producing its most popular models, the Elantra, Tucson, and Santa Fe.
As crossover vehicles, the Tucson and Santa Fe deliver many of the benefits of their larger SUV counterparts at much more affordable prices, which might explain their popularity. The Santa Fe even received a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety. Elsewhere, the Elantra has won awards of its own, picking up Car of the Year at the 2012 North American International Road Show. Thus, it’s not surprising that the popularity of these vehicles has fueled record sales for Hyundai this year.
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