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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

What’s Driving The Disruption And Capital Investment [techcrunch.com]?

The on-demand, utility economy has had a significant influence on business models in the automotive industry and have introduced services like Beepi and Vroom. Both startups aim to simplify the $36.5 billion used car industry by enabling consumers to surf, finance, and arrange delivery of a used car via their smartphones or other online device.

On the manufacturer side, new players like Tesla have challenged the traditional retail dealership model with direct sales and no franchise stores.

From a product perspective, sophisticated electronics and software now account for as much as 35 percent of the total cost of the automobiles themselves,and the ever increasing software content has accelerated the pace of product innovation from years to months.
...
Millennials have spearheaded disruption in the automotive industry with a major focus on pricing transparency, a preference for the ease of digital transactions, and the foundational expectation that their car should simply be an extension of their “always on” mobile lifestyles.

In a recent Car Buyer of the Future study done by Autotrader with a sample size of over 4,000 customers, less than half a percent currently enjoy the car-buying experience. In a study conducted by Accenture, 75 percent of respondents would consider purchasing a car via home delivery, completely online.

Today’s consumers want a faster, streamlined but personalized, no pressure, car-buying experience that allows them to purchase, finance, and insure their vehicle with the touch of a screen. They have been trained by Google, Facebook, and other digital data super powers to expect and enjoy a personalized customer experience based on their stated or inferred preferences from observed online behaviors and millions of digital data points. Why should car ownership or access to automotive mobility be any different?

Some marketing-speak to get through, but a reasonable overview of the current state of the industry.

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