New car buyers frustrated by poor communication surrounding when cars will arrive are set to have direct access to internal shipping, cutting dealers out of the loop.
Lengthy delays in the new car supply have caused friction between customers, sales staff and manufacturers, with buyers struggling to get straight answers surrounding when they can expect to get their new car.
Volkswagen Australia is set to adopt industry-first technology giving customers direct access to API, or application programming interface, shipping information that shows exactly where their car is, and when they should expect to receive it.
Ralph Beckmann, general manager of marketing and product for VW, says shipping information has been “somewhat difficult” and that customers have not been able to get straight answers from manufacturers and their staff.
“It tends to move around quite a bit and as a result of that you give some very conservative estimates, which in some cases might sound longer than what the actual reality is,” he said.
“That’s been solved and in an industry first, we have full integration of the API from the shipping company.
“It just gives us more clarity, and also makes sure that the dealer and the brand have one single source of truth in the communication to the customers.
“We’ve always been keen to get away from having to estimate … we had to sort of stay on the conservative side not to over promise and under deliver, which matters. In some cases the message of the customer was probably a bit of a long time.”
The brand is also gearing up for the introduction of electric cars, promising to deliver a customer experience that rivals such as Tesla cannot match.
VW customers who want to install a home charging system will be able to use augmented reality to choose the location of their charger and make sure it complies with electrical standards ahead of their installation date.
The brand also promises to have special deals for vehicle finance, EV charging, home electricity plans and other accessories ahead of the local introduction of the I. D. 4 and I. D. 5 electric cars in 2024.
Those models will be joined by an electric successor to the classic VW Kombi, known as the VW I.D. Buzz, in the fourth quarter of next year.