TrueCar, the online portal for buying and selling new and used vehicles, launches TrueCar+, a new car-buying platform that allows consumers to shop, complete the entire purchase with a dealer and arrange financing and delivery all from the comfort of their home or anywhere else with an internet connection.
The new online portal will allow dealers to extend their sales reach and provide “instant access to a turnkey digital marketplace,” the Santa Monica, CA-based firm says. Dealers will be able to reduce their investment in infrastructure, sales tools and technical expertise by making use of the platform, TrueCar adds.
“TrueCar enables consumers to connect to a dealer directly, and TrueCar+ takes this one step further as it will enable consumers to finalize deal terms with a dealer online and give them the options to complete their purchase however is best suited to their life,” says TrueCar President and CEO Mike Darrow. “Our ultimate goal is to present the largest used inventory and the only marketplace for new-vehicle purchases online.”
TrueCar+ launched as a pilot with certain dealers in select cities in Florida in September and expects to roll out the program for both used and new vehicles across the entire state by the end of the second quarter.
Expansion to all 50 states will follow in subsequent quarters, TrueCar says. No target date has been given for completion of the rollout.
TrueCar says a survey it commissioned shows more than 60% of car buyers want to complete the full purchase process online. “TrueCar+ will satisfy that need,” Darrow says, noting TrueCar is in talks to bring multiple dealer groups into the platform.
