The founders of CarWizz have claimed that the new online retail platform will return the control of customer relationships to retailers and reduce ageing new car stock without resorting to a "race to the bottom".

Due to launch in January 2019, the new platform has said that it will only advertise list price figures for stock vehicles and will focus negotiations on a specific readily-available vehicle rather than something any retailer of that marque can supply, leaving subscribers in a stronger negotiating position than would be the case with a referral from a brokerage site.

CarWizz co-founder, Michael Lowdell, said: “The CarWizz platform bridges traditional and online retailing in a way that returns control of customer relationships to retailers and integrates negotiations within their existing sales processes, thus combining the traditional online advantage of reaching an out-of-area audience without the disadvantage of committing to a near-cost or below-cost price.”

CarWizz said in a statment that it will also be able to lower operating costs for car retailers by ensuring visibility of stock vehicles to a broader and geographically diverse audience.

“Interest charges up to £200 per month for every £50,000 of stock held represent a considerable operating cost for retailers of any size, so placing ageing stock through CarWizz makes it easy to see a strong return on investment,” said Lowdell.

Further optimisation of stock turnover can be achieved through CarWizz’s market intelligence tools that provide users information, such as which models, colours and items of optional equipment receive the most enquiries and sell most quickly.

This data can potentially help dealers specify the right cars to maximise enquiries and minimise storage and stocking costs, CarWizz said.

Conceived by former senior managers from a leading automotive retail group, CarWizz is not a broker and is not a price comparison site.

CarWizz’s co-founder, Nigel Barber, said: “CarWizz allows retailers to escape the race to the bottom encouraged by online brokerages and advertising platforms by only displaying hosted vehicles at list price.

“Volume brands can appear on the site without their natural price advantage being eroded by discounts from high-margin prestige marques, who in turn can focus on differentiating through features and service.

"This appeals to national importers facing price pressure through adverse currency movements, as well as retail groups who have invested heavily in newer, larger showrooms with a focus on the customer journey that has previously been difficult to integrate into online referrals.”