Online sales for Citroen

And fixed-price Web deals mean no need for haggling Part of bid to improve customer experience

CITROEN is gearing up to sell cars online in the UK from next year – and the new customer experience could include fixed prices designed to give buyers a fair deal without any haggling.

It’s part of the brand’s ‘Advanced Comfort’ ethos, which is designed to extend beyond the compliant suspension for which Citroen is known to incorporate things such as customer experience.

Boss Linda Jackson has revealed to Auto Express that one element of Advanced Comfort will be a simpler, less pressurised purchase process. Customers will be able to choose and configure their cars – to order or from dealer or central stock – and then finance them and place a deposit online.

She said: “E-commerce is being rolled out in selected markets, and will eventually get to the UK – hopefully next year. Not everybody wants to buy a car online but some do. You can look at the car, configure it, get your finance, sort your deposit, then you go into the dealer to get your test drive. In that way, there is still a link to the dealer.”

Jackson also revealed that a key part of the process will be fixed prices designed to be as good as those achievable in negotiations with Citroen dealer staff. “You’ll pay the same price you could have got at the dealer, so it’s totally transparent, and also you have the possibility to get a quote on your existing car, which is less fixed,” Jackson added. “But the price for the new car is totally visible.

“We call it ‘Fair pricing’, where you get a clear price and you don’t have to negotiate and that’s it.”