Automotive logistics providers will bid for home delivery jobs from car dealers in a new home delivery option launched as part of Auto Trader's Vehicle Moves platform. 

Retailers can detail their logistics requirements – including vehicle movements directly to or from a customers’ homes – via the Auto Trader Moves portal to start a “reverse auction” process which sees logistics specialists bidding for the work.

Auto Trader said in a statement officially launching the new service this morning (June 18) that jobs are bid on by a network of over 300 trusted suppliers, with access to over 600 vehicle transporters, and more than 1,600 drivers, making Auto Trader Vehicle Moves the UK’s “largest logistics marketplace”.

Auto Trader’s business development director, Ed Hummel, said: “We know our customers are facing a very different retail landscape to the one they’re used to, and with it a host of unique challenges.

“To return to profit, retailers need to be able to adapt quickly to changing consumer expectations, and whilst demand remains incredibly strong, many car buyers are anxious to visit a dealership in person.

“The introduction of a B2C option in Vehicle Moves enables all retailers, regardless of size, a cost effective and convenient way to offer a home delivery option for a significant customer base which at a time of such uncertainty, very few can afford to lose.”

Auto Trader claims that the bidding process triggered by the Auto Trader Moves platform will drive value for car retailers looking for a home delivery logistics solution, adding that it could see retailers save an average of £31 per vehicle movement.

Auto Trader’s launch of home deliveries via its Vehicle Moves platform follows compilation of its latest consumer research, which highlighted that whilst showrooms in England and Northern Ireland have reopened, a third (37%) of car buyers remain unlikely or very unlikely to visit in person.

However, the same research revealed 36% would feel more comfortable completing an off-site transaction (on the phone or online) with a home delivery service.

Car Gurus added a functionality which allowed its advertising car retailers to highlight their provision of a home delivery service via its platform last month.

Home delivery for both sales and aftersales functions has become a hot topic for the car retail sector since the COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown begun in mid-March.

Peter Vardy Group chief executive, Peter Vardy, told AM that his dealerships had invested in compact folding motorcycles to facilitate delivery and collection of its service customers’ vehicles during lockdown.

He said: “We have to be able to adapt to whatever a customer needs in the new trading environment. Home delivery is just part of that.”