Volkswagen online sales boom

Volkswagen Australia says it has sold 433 new vehicles via online ordering alone so far this year, valued at about $26 million.

That accounts for just 1.7 per cent of the 26,090 sales it has notched up in 2020 (down 23% on 2019), but its online sales business is clearly set to increase given the new Volkswagen T-Roc was the first model to open for online pre-orders in January, followed by the rest of the VW range in April.

In addition to 433 new-vehicle sales, a further 349 online customers purchased a Volkswagen Care Plan, which was introduced earlier this year. Eighty per cent of these opted for the full five-year Care Plan ($2100) over the alternate three-year ($1300) version, securing the first years' service for free.

Also reflecting the growing trend of online activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, Volkswagen Australia says its public website has received an unprecedented 2.4 million visits so far this year and that requests for dealer contact have tripled since 2019.

All new Volkswagens from the Polo city-car to the Crafter van are included in the German brand’s enhanced online purchase process.

When a car is configured by a customer and a $500 deposit made, the designated dealer makes contact within 48 hours to complete the purchase and arrange delivery. Customers can also choose vehicles not currently allocated to a dealer via the Stock-Locator tool.

Volkswagen Australia Director Customer Experience and Marketing, Jason Bradshaw, said the growth in online sales was “definitely attributable to our new online tools that now include stock search, trade-in-valuation and pre-order”.

“Our dealership partners, which are always the completion point of purchase and delivery, also directly benefit from our enhanced online ability, not least during the unprecedented circumstances of the COVID-10 pandemic,” he said.