Elio Distribution And Direct Sales

[goofyone]

I personally don't even know why they need storefronts. Let us just order them online at an Elio Motors website, or maybe even on Amazon with Amazon Prime. Ship the cars to our door or we can pick them up at Pep Boys! Since the price is set in stone and no-haggle, I don't need to talk to anybody in person. Seriously, who buys things in person anymore

I know you are having fun with sarcasm however for those people who really do not care there is supposed to be an option to purchase the vehicle online and have it delivered to your door.

 

[creekstone]

Forbes, 4/8/14: Tesla Is Smarter Than Other Car Companies
http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2014/04/08/tesla-is-smarter-than-other-auto-companies/

Mentions TrueCar

 

[pj rogers]

Tesla has showrooms don't they? Actually, the showroom orders the vehicle on line. How will you and your family, first of all see the elio, get a presentation, drive the elio, and if the pep boy store is 230 miles away..you would have to go get it. .
You would have the final price in your hand, a purchase order probably, including all the options and destination fee and a dealer prep fee (fixed) paid to pep boys...so you COULD take that to your bank, wait a few days and get the money to EM. .
DMV fees could be handled by you, go wait in line for 2-3 hours, pay them the money and that is how E-Z it would be.
If you have a problem in say 4-5 days, have it towed back to pep boys and wait for the elio to be repaired.
You could have it delivered in a big truck, pay the delivery driver $750. and take it to your local mechanic and pay him to do the new vehicle check list. Then go to DMV. Either way, it will be paid for before it leases the factory grounds.

 

[creekstone]

GM has experimented with an interesting sales/manufacturing/delivery model outside the states:

Since 2000, customers in Brazil can order the Celta over the internet from a site that links them with GM's assembly plant and 470 dealers nationwide. By 2006, 700,000 Celtas had been produced and the car continues to be one of Brazil's best sellers. Consumers have 20 "build-combinations" from which to configure a model of their choice, including colors and accessories, and can view each change as it is being made. GM built five distribution centers throughout Brazil to reduce transportation time from its assembly plant and buyers can track location of their car online on its way to delivery at a dealer of their choice. The time from configuration at the factory to delivery is only about a week, in contrast to the several week wait that can be common in ordering a car in the United States. The Celta was designed by GM in collaboration with suppliers who deliver just-in-time pre-assembled modules to the factory. GM estimates that collaboration in design and manufacturing enabled it to use 60 percent fewer suppliers and 50 percent fewer parts than in a traditional assembly operation. According to Mark Hogan, president of e-GM at the time of the Celta's introduction, GM can sell Celtas 24 hours a day and enjoys a competitive advantage from reduced production time, lower inventory levels and an overall more efficient distribution and sales model where dealers need to stock only two models, one for the show room and one for test drives. Consumers benefit from Celta's online no-haggle pricing structure, where prices are about 6 percent lower than for sales made through conventional distribution channels. The price is lower because GM passes on to consumers some of the tax benefits it gets from the Brazilian government as a result of the reduced inventory and real estate associated with online sales.

Source: Economic Effects of State Bans on Direct Manufacturer Sales to Car Buyers
http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/eag/246374.htm

 

[goofyone]

GM has experimented with an interesting sales/manufacturing/delivery model outside the states:

Since 2000, customers in Brazil can order the Celta over the internet from a site that links them with GM's assembly plant and 470 dealers nationwide. By 2006, 700,000 Celtas had been produced and the car continues to be one of Brazil's best sellers. Consumers have 20 "build-combinations" from which to configure a model of their choice, including colors and accessories, and can view each change as it is being made. GM built five distribution centers throughout Brazil to reduce transportation time from its assembly plant and buyers can track location of their car online on its way to delivery at a dealer of their choice. The time from configuration at the factory to delivery is only about a week, in contrast to the several week wait that can be common in ordering a car in the United States. The Celta was designed by GM in collaboration with suppliers who deliver just-in-time pre-assembled modules to the factory. GM estimates that collaboration in design and manufacturing enabled it to use 60 percent fewer suppliers and 50 percent fewer parts than in a traditional assembly operation. According to Mark Hogan, president of e-GM at the time of the Celta's introduction, GM can sell Celtas 24 hours a day and enjoys a competitive advantage from reduced production time, lower inventory levels and an overall more efficient distribution and sales model where dealers need to stock only two models, one for the show room and one for test drives. Consumers benefit from Celta's online no-haggle pricing structure, where prices are about 6 percent lower than for sales made through conventional distribution channels. The price is lower because GM passes on to consumers some of the tax benefits it gets from the Brazilian government as a result of the reduced inventory and real estate associated with online sales.

Source: Economic Effects of State Bans on Direct Manufacturer Sales to Car Buyers
http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/eag/246374.htm

I had heard about GM direct sales in Brazil however had never read much detail about it. Something tells me it is no accident that this all sounds very similar to the model Elio Motors has laid out for design, manufacturing, distribution and sales.

 

[creekstone]

Something tells me it is no accident that this all sounds very similar to the model Elio Motors has laid out for design, manufacturing, distribution and sales.

Indeed

 

[BlioKart]

Damn UPS scratched my Elio returning it to QVC

 

[Rickb]

I like the idea of the direct to consumer sales model, but uncertain about the more important direct to consumer service model we need after the sale.

 

[DWR]

I personally don't even know why they need storefronts. Let us just order them online at an Elio Motors website, or maybe even on Amazon with Amazon Prime. Ship the cars to our door or we can pick them up at Pep Boys! Since the price is set in stone and no-haggle, I don't need to talk to anybody in person. Seriously, who buys things in person anymore

They need showrooms for the consumers like PJ Rogers that wan't to see, touch and drive before they buy. I think they will be very small facilities with maybe 2-4 Elios on site, and very low overhead. PJ can't be the only consumer that feels that way, and I can understand his position.....on that issue. Without any showrooms, Elio would be knocking themselves out of a whole segment of potential buyers. JMO

 

[CheeseheadEarl]

They need showrooms for the consumers like PJ Rogers that wan't to see, touch and drive before they buy. I think they will be very small facilities with maybe 2-4 Elios on site, and very low overhead. PJ can't be the only consumer that feels that way, and I can understand his position.....on that issue. Without any showrooms, Elio would be knocking themselves out of a whole segment of potential buyers. JMO

Correct. I'm not committing to buy a $6800 anything until I get some hands on time.

Not saying we need dealerships per se, but a store that has at least one demo model.