Direct Sales

Towards the End of the Joy of Driving?

The trend towards direct vehicle sales is gaining momentum, inspired by Tesla's model, which bypasses dealerships to sell its cars directly online. However, what works for a tech brand like Tesla may not be as easily applicable to traditional brands like Porsche or Ferrari. This shift to direct sales is radically transforming the buying experience, and at WOT, we wonder: could the car, more than just a product, lose its soul in this transition?

From Online Purchases to the Elimination of Dealerships

Direct sales certainly offer advantages for manufacturers. It reduces costs, increases margins, and allows for greater control over the customer journey, from purchase to delivery. The argument is simple: why maintain an expensive network of dealerships when everything can be handled online? By removing intermediaries, manufacturers hope to offer more competitive prices while increasing their profitability. However, this model overlooks an essential aspect of car buying: the customer experience. Purchasing a car is an important and emotional decision. For many, it's more than just clicking to make an online purchase; it’s about the pleasure of visiting a dealership, speaking with experts, discovering options, and configuring the car of their dreams. The dealership doesn’t just sell a product: it conveys the passion and brand image, offering an immersive experience that cannot be replicated on a website.

A Model That Works… for Tech Brands

Tesla has successfully implemented this direct sales model partly because of its DNA as a tech brand. Tesla is more than a car: it’s a digital experience, where every model is designed like a tech product. In this context, online sales and the absence of dealerships make sense, as Tesla customers are looking for technology as much as performance. But for brands like Porsche or Ferrari, buying goes far beyond technology. These are prestige brands, whose identity is partly based on a close relationship with their customers. At WOT, we believe that some car brands would lose their appeal and DNA if they adopted this direct sales model without dealerships. Buying a Porsche online, without in-person advice, without on-site configuration? It could dilute the very essence of what it means to own a luxury car.

The End of the Joy of Driving?

Direct sales also risk diminishing the role of experts, those passionate salespeople and technicians who embody the brand and enrich the buying experience. For many customers, it’s unthinkable to give up the personalized services of a dealership, the ability to test different models, ask detailed questions, and receive tailored advice. By abandoning this model, manufacturers risk turning their cars into mere tech products, devoid of soul or passion. The automotive world is undergoing a transformation, and this drive to cut costs and simplify the customer journey could lead to a sense of disenchantment. The car, once a symbol of freedom and pleasure, is becoming a utilitarian product, disconnected from the emotional experience that made it an object of desire. At WOT, we fear that this evolution could impoverish the car experience, turning it into a mere mobility tool.

WOT Conclusion: The Car is Losing its Human Connection

At WOT, we see in this direct sales model an evolution that goes far beyond the pursuit of profitability. What’s being lost is not only the expertise of dealerships but also the human connection. Buying a car is becoming an impersonal act, reduced to a click, depriving enthusiasts of the pleasure of personal interaction and advice. With fewer physical dealerships, customer service also becomes more distant, transforming the car into a mere functional product, stripped of the shared passion and soul that once defined it. We hope that manufacturers will preserve this essential connection, so that cars remain more than just a utilitarian object.