Presenting the ‘Digitalisation of Automotive Finance’ whitepaper at its Automotive Finance Forum in Paris today, Sophus3, which has partnered with manufacturers to create online retail solutions, said that finance was the key to success online.

Scott Gairns, Sophus3 MD, said: “This new benchmark in car finance is fuelled by increasingly competitive monthly finance rates, from a growing list of rival finance providers, and the challenge to hit year-end sales targets.

SMARTPHONE monthly contract costs are increasing, as modern smartphones become more sophisticated. Proof, if proof were needed – you can now lease a brand-new car for the same or lower monthly cost than the iPhone X

Current changes to marketing within the automotive industry are being led by the digital consumer. For car brands, this means understanding their consumers in the way online retailers already do. That behavioural shift to digital has already happened and marketers are investing increasing time and effort into expanding their knowledge of their online audience.

Self-driving cars: what could they mean for your business? Self-driving cars have been discussed for years, but now that the Government is drafting legislation for their arrival on British roads, conversation is moving away from if, to when and what the impact might be.

Should you worry about your car debt? In 2016 alone, UK households borrowed a record £31.6bn to buy cars, a 12 per cent increase on the previous year, according to the Finance and Leasing Association. In fact, nine out of 10 private car buyers are now using low-cost leasing deals to fund their new car.

The days of browsing car showrooms for your new motor has not ended yet, but the landscape has shifted significantly over the past few years and car showrooms of tomorrow could exist almost entirely online, according to a new report.

Car Buyers turning to mobile to research new purchases. There were 1.09bn visits to car brand websites in the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and France in 2016, a 7 per cent increase on 2015. The average session length was 2 minutes, 51 seconds, with visitors looking at an average of four pages per visit.

Car buying online speeds up – fasten your seatbelts. They haven’t (yet) perfected how to reproduce the aroma of new leather interiors, but there is no doubt that taking the car showroom experience onto the internet is growing in popularity. Car buying online, after stalling a few years ago, is now heading into top gear.

The customer, not the industry, will define the future of the automotive sector according to Sophus3 managing director, Scott Gairns. ‘The car market faces a tough year ahead due to economic and political uncertainty. Car brands and their digital teams must prepare for the approaching waves of disruption or risk being swept away.

The British automotive industry is set for a year of “volatility and uncertainty” in 2017, according to Paul Rutishauser, editor of Automotive Market Intelligence.

Sophus3 is speaking at the Internet Conference Motors

1 milliard de visites automobiles sur Internet!

Sophus3 is speaking at the 10th Internet Motors in Madrid

Pulsar is speaking at the Sophus3 Forum 2016

The average car buyer used to visit four or five dealerships before they purchased a vehicle. Nowadays, that figure’s closer to one or two. What does that mean for the the role of the dealership?