IBN Live reports that “Nissan goes online to sell cars in
India”. (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/nissan-goes-online-to-sell-cars-in-india/438613-25-162.html
)
This could well be an emerging trend in India in auto
retailing. It will be interesting to see how the Indian consumer reacts to this
new offering. Incidentally I had worked on a project in 2006 -07 on a micro
site that allowed shoppers to research automobiles, build their own trim, add
options and accessories and get a quote. They could also get connected with the
dealer in the zip code of their preference. At that time the micro site project
that I worked on offered this service on Ford, Nissan and Daimler Chrysler.
The Nissan site will allow shoppers to book their cars and
make payments online. It will be delivered by the nearest dealer. This shift of
trend in websites from information sources, to medium of conversion of online
queries to offline sales, to a medium of conversion of online enquiry to sales
will be an interesting trend to watch.
A few questions that come to my mind as I read this news
item are,
- · Will the automobile industry adapt to Dell’s Build to Order strategy
- · How would the next innovation in JIT inventory management look like
- · How will the vehicle allocation be made to dealers
