If you ask them “what brand are they dealers for” you lose the day: Mercedes, Mercedes Van, Smart, BMW, BMW Motorrad, Mini, Jeep, Alfa, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Lancia, Abarth, Hyundai, Toyota, Toyota Professional, Lexus, Subaru, Kia, Ineos and BYD. We are talking about Autorino, 70 branches and 2750 collaborators, the first Italian car dealer in terms of size and turnover (over 2 billion, +24% on 2022) and which sells over 60 thousand cars. Who knows better than them what is happening in the car market? And who better than them can explain to us why second-hand goods have become so important today?
“We as a company – explains Matteo Vanini, vice-president of the Autorino Group – have always considered ourselves 'buyers' of used vehicles. To do a good job on new vehicles you need to have great expertise in second-hand vehicles. This is the key. This is why we have now tried to bring the second-hand car sector to a higher level.”
Or?
“It's not just a question of services or offer. But it's about being able to create a clear, shared and communicable strategy. These are very important things that give a strategic meaning to the tools, i.e. the guarantees, the 'satisfied or refunded' mechanisms, the insurance packages, everything we offer to customers. From all this 'BeBeep' was born, a project that aims to distinguish itself from existing realities. And that makes used cars take a leap in quality. Even from a cultural point of view, let me say.”
He says this because second-hand cars have always been the Cinderellas of the car market…
“Of course, but also because they rarely have the professionalism and structured, quality service that new cars enjoy. So we wanted to give a name to this second-hand strategy to personalize it more, to create further opportunities for customers. 'BeBeep' was born, which gives dignity and value to second-hand cars, simplifying their purchase in terms of accessibility and guarantee. Without forgetting the fact that BeBeep will be present on multiple channels in order to reach everyone quickly and easily: starting from its Instagram and Facebook pages, passing through the used offers on the autotorino.it website and, finally, through its signs and personalized spaces in all 70 Autotorino dealerships”.
Why is it called that?
“It represents two taps of the horn that draw the customer's attention, in a polite, non-annoying way, to be seen. It's the used one that sounds good. It's what a car does when it arrives and wants to be seen. We arrived at this name after an internal survey among all our collaborators, after different schools of thought and a thousand proposals. It's nice to share everything, even these details.”
From a practical point of view, can your dimensions guarantee a particular offer?
“The range of used cars available in the area is made up of well over 3000 vehicles: the majority thermally powered, with a prevalence of SUV models, including those in the premium segment; there is no shortage of sedans, station wagons and city cars, as well as full-electric, plug-in or hybrid low-emission options”.
By the way, do you also believe in used electrics?
“Yes, absolutely. But we will have to wait for a significant fleet of cars in circulation to arrive in Italy. Second-hand electric vehicles, by their nature, have critical issues, but can easily be a valid alternative. The advantages are enormous, especially on the price front. For those approaching this type of mobility, a correctly maintained used car is a great opportunity.”
Let's go back to the concept of giving new life to a sector that was previously the Cinderella of the market.
“It's an important re-evaluation, as we said before, in some ways also cultural and social. With 'fresh' second-hand cars we are able to cover the low end of the market, abandoned by new ones. Segment A actually no longer exists today. And rising prices are also a theme. Thus used cars have become an alternative for those who previously turned to the entry level of the market, so today it is no longer a second-class alternative. But a concrete possibility of accessing mobility”.
On the opposite front, today we are witnessing the phenomenon of unobtainable machines that fuel the scalper market. With new machines that are sold at prices much higher than the list prices.
“True, but this ugly phenomenon is running out. In fact, I'll tell you more, in my opinion this race is already over. It's true that there are very particular cars that fuel these phenomena, but all the sales networks are working – very well – to create transparent markets. Everything, sooner or later, settles down…”.
#Vanini #cars #car #market #FormulaPassion.it
