Abtbilw
Bilweb is a third party broker, that is, it does not represent a specific make and thereby it does not have any preference for one make before any other. It is a Swedish site and is only operating in Sweden. The service is wholly owned by Scandinavia On Line (SOL), which in turn is owned by Telia (40 percent), Schibstedt (40 percent) and Telecar (20 percent) (Hejdestrand, 16/11/98). It started out with used car sales only, but in September 1998 they introduced a new car sales service on trial and will fully launch the service in January 1999. The site has had more than 180,000 visits since they started (Maria Ottoson, 30/10/98).
Bilweb has tied up 330 used car dealers to the service, which covers 34 percent of all used cars dealers on the Swedish market. All dealers that are considered to be serious are welcome to join Bilweb. The agreement between Bilweb and the dealers are not exclusive. Thus, the dealers are not hindered from joining other similar services like Autobytel if desired. (Andersson, 17/11/98)
Third party brokers are not charging the customers anything for the service they provide, but instead they charge the dealers. The structure of the charge is different between different brokers, but Bilweb is charging a monthly fee of approximately SEK 3,000. The charged fee is thereby independent of the numbers of request. (Andersson, 17/11/98)
Bilweb offers the possibility to configure a car, but it does not provide pictures of the cars with the chosen colour or rims etc.. Thus, they have a simpler configurator than VolvoNet. The main functions on Bilweb’s site are the possibility to shop for a new or used car as well as find information about the cars and services directly connected
to the purchase such as insurance and financing (bilweb.passagen.se).
When buying a new car one can choose between eleven different makes (as of today, 28/12/98). After the make is chosen, one chooses the desired model and configuration. For instance, when choosing a Volvo S70 one can choose between engines, twelve different accessories and seven different colours. Before one sends a request one is asked from which part of the country the contacting dealers should come from (it is possible to be contacted by dealers from all over Sweden), how many offers one wants and the desired time of delivery. Finally, one is asked which criteria should be used to choose the dealers, delivery time, price, or exact model, although these criteria and
the desired time of delivery are rather irrelevant when it comes to buying a new Volvo. All new Volvos are built on order and all models and configurations are available and the delivery time is only affected by the number of orders that can be handled at the same time, thus the only criteria that is really relevant when choosing a dealer is price (Eneqvist, 25/11/98).
Motormännens Riksförbund (MRF) and Motor, an automotive magazine, provide the information available on Bilweb. The information provided by MRF concerns tests of different makes and models (updated as new tests are performed), technical specifications such as number of horsepower and size of the engines. The information provided by Motor is more of a general kind and present comparisons between different makes and introductions of new models etc.. There is not really much information about insurance and financing. Together with the request one can enclose information about whether one would prefer company lease or instalment and some other details concerning these options. There is also a direct link to Skandia (an insurance company) where a car insurance can be bought online.
In addition to these main services there are also peripheral services such as a list of garages approved by Svensk Bilprovning AB, a register over used spare parts and a manual for do-it-yourself repairs and a list of necessary tools
and equipment. There is also a cost estimate for driving and owning a specific car, although there were no cost estimate to be found for driving a Volvo S70 (as of 28/12/98).
Autobytel is a third party Internet car broker based in California, USA. The business has been running since 1995 and Autobytel is now the leading third party broker in the United States. In 1997 the company mediated an estimated 2 percent out of totally 15 million new cars sold in the U.S. that year. The company has 2,700 accredited dealers and is said to have a closing rate of around 37 percent of all mediated new car requests (Washington, 26/01/98).
By January 1999 the company will launch its Nordic service, Autobytel.se. It is also worth mentioning that Autobytel.se use a closing rate of 25 percent for their internal calculations (Nordh, 19/11/98). The Autobytel.se service is wholly owned by Bilia. Although Volvo is one of the major investors in Bilia (37 percent) Autobytel.se’s
ambition is to tie up as many manufacturers as possible. The site will have almost identical functions as the American Autobytel.com.
Dealers are tied to Autobytel.se by contract. The contract gives the dealer the right of being the exclusive Autobytel dealer in a specific geographical area. The dealer is also free to sign up with other Internet brokering services. At each dealer there is an employee educated by Autobytel who is responsible for all requests coming through Autobytel.se. For being a member of the Autobytel.se service the dealer pays an annual fee plus a fixed price for every request (Note: not a price per closed deal) of about SEK 200. Autobytel is concerned with having a high customer satisfaction ratio and to be sure to satisfy the customers, Autobytel constantly evaluate their dealers and thereby hope to guarantee the quality of the service and the customer satisfaction. (Nordh, 19/11/98)
Since the Swedish site has not yet been launched and its services will be based upon its American counterpart we will use the American site to identify the services that will be offered to the Swedish market. The main services available at the North American Autobytel site are as follows (www.autobytel.com):
The first and most important service is of course the possibility to shop for new or used cars. One can either be helped to find a car that matches one’s preferences, view pictures of different cars or go directly to the make that one prefers. If, for example, a Volvo S70 is chosen one can then choose between several different version of the S70 such as sedan, AWD (four wheel drive), GLT etc.. Then one is able to choose between six different optional packages and 33 different exterior/interior colour combinations. The estimated price is shown and is changed automatically as one chooses a certain package or colour combination. When the configuration is done a form is filled out with personal information and one is then contacted by a dealer who presents an offer for the configured car. The time from sending the request until the dealer contacts the customer should under normal conditions not
exceed 24 hours.
In addition, there is also the possibility to compare the chosen car with other makes and models. The comparison is between the standard equipment, that is, what one receives without choosing any optional packages, and suggested
price for the different cars. There is also the possibility to read reviews for the cars, both professional articles and
evaluations done by other visitors. When we visited the site last time (30/12/98) there was one customer review
and one article concerning the S70.
Autobytel offers information on both insurance and financing and a possibility to apply for insurance and financing. In addition to being able to apply for the insurance online one can also receive an insurance rate quote for a specific car. The insurance information is provided by American International Group, Inc. (AIG), a U.S. based insurance organisation. The financing service offers leasing and loan. A prerequisite for applying for a loan or lease is that one has requested an offer for a car through Autobytel. Once approved for a loan or lease the information given in the
application is forwarded to the assigned dealer who prepares the loan or lease.
To make visitors loyal to the Autobytel service, Autobytel has a membership card, which works similar to a frequent flyer bonus. The more money spent the more points received. These points can then be used to buy products at
Autobytel or one of their partners. To further enhance the customer satisfaction a survey is available for customers who have finalised their deals. The incentive is the chance to win USD 1,000, this chance is given once a month.
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