AutoNation: Buy A Car On Your SmartPhone

AutoNation customers might be one swipe away from reserving an auto purchase, just in the nick of time for the holiday season.

AutoNation is considered to be the largest dealership group in the United States, and now they are moving their efforts towards allowing customers to work with them from the comfort of their smart phone.

According to mike Jackson, chief executive officer of the company,” customers can select specific vehicles, get a committed price, give us a deposit, and that becomes their vehicle… without ever having entered the store.”

AutoNation is investing a reported 100 million dollars in this project over the course of two years. By 2015 the goal according to Jackson is to allow customers to purchase vehicles from the app and receive committed trade in values and financing details.

The move is part of a feeling on Jackson’s part that creates a seamless buying platform for the customer. He explained that, “informational sites are useful. They’ve taken us to a certain point, but the customers are not interested in doing all that work, disconnecting, and then coming to the stores and starting over again.”

This is a story that we’re watching closely as it impacts the retail automotive space. We will keep you updated as the app launches and customers begin to look into smartphone vehicle purchases.