Insights | April 24, 2024

Inchcape CDO Mark Dearnley talks about how Inchcape’s powering online and omnichannel automotive retail

Inchcape Chief Digital Officer (CDO) Mark Dearnley talks about how Inchcape’s powering Online and omnichannel automotive retail.

Our OEM partners are constantly innovating to meet customers’ expectations as mobility evolves and as the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) accelerates. These changes are happening in parallel with huge growth in online and omnichannel retail.  

Data on the growth of online car retail is clear: in the decade to 2031 it will grow at 17.5% annually (compounded) to $176.2bn¹ 

Our OEM partners and customers want seamless, secure omni-channel eCommerce experience. Inchcape provides end-to-end capabilities to help OEMs achieve this.  

We are accelerating the digitisation of the automotive industry by leveraging data to drive smarter, faster, more informed, and better business decisions for more than 30 leading automotive brands across more than 40 countries. 

Our deep expertise and investment in data and analytics gives Inchcape unique abilities to ensure customers get the online experience OEMs want them to have.  

Our technology platforms offer rich data and insights into what customers want:   

Inchcape’s Digital Experience Platform (DXP) drives a buying and owning experience for today’s digital-savvy customers. It means they can browse and buy seamlessly and access support and maintenance easily throughout their ownership of a vehicle.  

Our Data Analytics Platform (DAP) supports brand partners by using 250 AI algorithms to grow market share by reaching more customers than ever, optimising inventory, maximising margins. In parallel, this means OEM partners can tailor their offer to individual markets offering customers a better experience.  

Our talented teams are developing and improving our platforms all the time to drive value for OEM partners and their customers. This work is led by Inchcape Digital and delivered by our Digital Delivery Centres (DDCs) – global tech hubs in APAC and LATAM, where 1,400 talented colleagues develop and support our platforms’ functionality every day.  

All our platforms are underpinned by cyber security – an area of constant investment, focus and vigilance. As well as our unbeaten capabilities we know how important this is for our partners.  

It’s not just me saying we’re doing this well: this year Inchcape won 263 Reputation 800 Awards, an acknowledged customer experience benchmark. These awards recognise Inchcape’s skill in providing exceptional customer experience with OEM brands, built on deep local market knowledge and the work of our fantastic teams. Increasingly our ability to excel in each of these factors is because of digital capability and platforms like DAP and DXP. This is being borne out as we transform the customers’ experience for more OEMs with DXP.  

¹ https://www.statista.com/topics/8240/online-car-sales-worldwide