Infiniti Retail Group (IRG) has launched a new ‘Buy Online’ sales facility using GForces’ ecommerce platform, Auto-e - despite the Japanese premium brand's preparations to leave the UK market in 2020.

Infiniti customers using the Buy Online service will now benefit from real-time part-exchange valuations, finance tools with immediate credit decisions (provided by Alphera), and digital signing of agreements and online payment processing.

The Infiniti endorsement marks “another significant milestone” for the GForces platform.

However, AM recently reported that Infiniti plans to withdraw its manufacturing and sales operations from the UK in 2020 to target electrification and growth in Western Europe, China and the US.

IRG’s managing director, Jon Roberts, said: “The decision by Infiniti to cease activities in Western Europe in 2020 hasn’t dampened our focus and commitment to deliver a first-class service to our customers.

“It was, therefore, imperative that we completed this project with the team at GForces, who have been long-term supporters of the brand.

"IRG has always tried to be at the forefront of new technology, putting our customers at the heart of what we do, so we are delighted to be live with the full ecommerce service – it’s a simple, intuitive, customer-friendly platform from which we are gaining fantastic insights into the future of car retailing.”

The new online retail capabilities complement the brand’s physical showroom facilities, while the introduction of a live online chat service expands the product support offering.

The GForces platform brings the entire buying journey online and it predicts significant growth over the next 12 months.

GForces’ head of online retailing Paul Stokes  said: “Until very recently, motor retail businesses have been taking a piecemeal approach to ecommerce, but this is significantly out of step with consumers’ experience of other retail sectors.

"We are helping OEMs and dealerships deliver the hassle-free online buying experiences that modern consumers expect.”