Dealers push dot-com cars for Vauxhall

Vauxhall has set up computer terminals at two of its dealerships, to sell customers its dot-com branded cars. These cost up to £1,000 less than cars normally sold through dealers.

Reg Vardy and another unnamed dealership have been given the go-ahead by the manufacturer to take customers through the process of buying online.

The move signals a strategy change for Vauxhall, which launched the Website last October to attract customers who wish to eliminate the “middleman” and buy a car at discount.

Andy Jones, marketing operations director at Vauxhall, says: “A couple of dealerships are doing it. This offer is really only attractive to a few types of people, and if the dealership feels the [dot-com] car is right for a customer, it will sit down and go through it with them.”

The dot-com cars are a limited edition, and carry a “.com” badge.

To placate dealers which might feel the manufacturer is under-cutting them, Vauxhall points out that the cars will still require aftercare service from these dealerships.