Toyota and Lexus retailers have simplified the process of financing a car purchase with the introduction of a web-based platform offering a range of products and an online signature facility.

The new web-based electronic point-of-sale system, NGage, allows customers to compare quotations side-by-side with appropriate interest rates before gaining finance approval “ almost immediately”, the manufacturer said in a statement.

Toyota said that the paper process aims to mimic the same buying process seen in other areas of online retail, eliminating unnecessary delays, while remaining “robust and secure”.

Fran Kenny, operations director at Toyota Financial Services, said: “We have sought to produce a best-in-class front-end system that will help strengthen our performance in fleet, retail and direct customer sales.

“We have had positive feedback from our dealers and we see great potential in the business agility that NGage can provide.

“Motor finance is dynamic, fast-growing marketplace, so it’s important for us to be agile and contain costs while delivering business change that benefits us, our dealers and our customers.”

NGage uses CALMS software designed by the White Clarke Group, enabling interfaces with leading credit bureaux and vehicle data services.

Toyota said that the system, which can be accessed on a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer, has been developed and extensively tested prior to a national roll-out through Toyota and Lexus’s 234 centres over a six-week period with full implementation completed by end of November. 

At the same time, an e-training programme has been used for all dealer and internal staff to learn how the system works and the benefits it can deliver.