Online motors sites should be “very concerned” as Google moves into the market.
Sharon Hill of AIM Group’s Classified Intelligence Report says Google will ‘hard launch’ a US-wide Google Cars site following a California rollout and a limited beta in San Francisco since last year.
While the search engine company will not confirm the national rollout, Google auto executive Michael Rose is reported to have announced the plans at the 2013 Digital Marketing Strategies Conference.
AIM principal and editorial director Jim Townsend says Google Cars will differentiate from other automotive classified sites through a number of features, including the ability to haggle with dealers in relative anonymity through a proxy phone connection.
“And did we mention, It’s Google?”
He says that while it “doesn't always do everything right, but it does usually do everything big.”
The dealer connection feature follows when a buyer requests a quote: “The dealer buys the request from Google as a warm lead with a short expiration date,” says Hill. “The short expiration keeps the lead warm, but some San Francisco-area dealers in Google's beta test have found it a bit frustrating.”
There are currently no reviews or consumer engagement, though some sources thought that to be planned.
In the US, AOL Autos already offers a buyer anonymity feature through a collaboration with Car-Woo.
More information from www.aimgroup.com