Exclusive Delivery Partner process to bypass majority of dealers
UPDATE 12/10/2021: A Hyundai spokesperson has confirmed that the first tranche of 240 IONIQ 5s for Australia has been sold, with an additional 170 deposits taken via the Hyundai website on October 12th.
“The vehicle sold out in just over two hours,” said the spokesperson.
In good news for those that missed out, the spokesperson added: “Once we have clear visbility on vehicle supply, we intend to release a second allocation, with timing likely to be early in 2022.
“Customers who missed out will receive regular updates about the supply situation and timing for the release of the next batch. We plan to only release vehicles for order once production has been scheduled, to ensure reasonable delivery timeframes for our customers.”
Our initial IONIQ 5 direct online sales model story follows below.
***
Hyundai’s latest EV, the IONIQ 5 SUV, will introduce the brand’s direct online sales model and limit the number of dealers that will be able to deliver and service the new electric car.
The new SUV has been revealed with a starting price of $71,900 plus on-road costs – making it comfortably the most expensive EV in the Hyundai stable, and ineligible for EV rebates currently available in some Australian states.
According to a media release issued by Hyundai, some 11,000 expressions of interest and 120 dealer deposits had been placed nationally. The Korean brand has now nominated only 10 dealers as ‘Delivery Partners’, though 32 ‘Hyundai BlueDrive’ dealerships will have servicing capability. A fixed pricing model, with no negotiation, will be implemented.
Hyundai has 164 dealerships nation-wide.
The process of purchasing the initial 400-unit allocation of the IONIQ 5 is via the Hyundai Australia public website, Hyundai has indicated that it will triage demand as follows:
- Those customers who have already placed deposits with Hyundai dealerships over the past eight months will have first priority to secure a vehicle during the initial period of online ordering, starting from September 27.
- From October 12, any customer who has previously registered their interest in IONIQ 5 will be given 24-hours’ early access to place a vehicle order.
- Then, from October 13, ordering will open up to the general public.
IONIQ 5 orders are secured with a $2000 deposit, on a true first come first served basis.
After the initial allocation of 400 vehicles is exhausted, expressions of interest will continue to be taken and Hyundai will remain in close contact with all interested customers.
Shifting sands
A growing number of brands have introduced some form of online sales into the Australian marketplace. Examples have included in-demand sportscars but more recently, electric vehicles seem to be a focus.
“We’ve now seen various online releases from major OEMs, and we see that they are conditioning consumers to the online buying process,” says Michael Holmes, carsales Executive Director – Dealer.
“Our recent research into consumers’ appetite for digital automotive purchases shows a clear trend towards online purchase consideration. Around 36 per cent of our sample said they would now consider online vehicle purchase, with 56 per cent saying they believed online would be the primary purchasing medium in future,” he said.
carsales has recently launched carsales Select, a digital marketing opportunity for used vehicles which facilitates online sales for dealers.
carsales Select offers dealers opportunity to satisfy evolving consumers as they grow more comfortable with digital-first vehicle purchases.
Bringing consumers purchase transparency and peace-of-mind, carsales Select offers pre-negotiated pricing, inspection reports and a money-back guarantee to remove online purchase uncertainty.
As the purchasing model evolves towards a digital age, carsales dealers can also enhance their online capability with some simple best practice tips.
