Millennials make e-commerce an automotive retail necessity

The global automotive e-commerce market is expected to make substantial gains in the proceeding decade—from a value of US$75.3bn in 2022 to US$213.1bn in 2030, according to Fortune Business Insights.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated supply issues and restricted physical sales, forced companies to adapt in the virtual marketplace to survive. Subsequently, e-commerce became a fulcrum of change for the automotive industry in many ways. In India, for example, a post-pandemic boom in online business stimulated the electric three-wheeler market, enabling cities to lay the foundations for more service-based economies. Elsewhere, Fiat is attempting to reshape the car-buying journey through immersive metaverse-based showrooms.

Lance Owide, General Manager of B2B at open SaaS e-commerce provider BigCommerce, tells Automotive World that the flourishing of e-commerce within the industry was almost inevitable. “COVID-19 turbo-charged the change, but it was already underway.” The reason is simple: a new generation of buyer.