Stellantis expands used-car site Spoticar to U.S. dealerships

Stellantis has brought its Spoticar used-car platform from Europe to the U.S., giving dealerships an outlet for their certified pre-owned inventory.

The website will be a connection point for dealers and consumers. Shoppers can use their ZIP code to browse CPO models from Stellantis brands that meet the company's requirements. Users also can set up test drives and sell their own vehicle to a dealership.

Spoticar launched in 2019 across 11 European countries. It's been available in the U.S. since July.

Stellantis said the U.S. launch is another step to help meet used-vehicle sales goals under its Dare Forward 2030 strategy.

"We're really moving the customer journey to a more digital experience," Jeff Kommor, Stellantis' head of U.S. sales, told Automotive News. "The used-car market is huge; it's 35 to 40 million sales a year. It's almost twice as big as the new-car industry, and it's an integral part of our dealers' profitability as well. We want to be able to give the customer an opportunity to purchase a certified vehicle through a frictionless, seamless process."

Kommor said used-car inventory has been tight in recent years, but he has noticed an uptick in dealerships certifying used vehicles recently.

Kommor said, in particular, there have been fewer vehicles that are no more than 3 years old on the market.

Edmunds, the third-party shopping site, said that's "due to disruptions in rental car agency replacement purchases and leasing life cycle shifts."

Edmunds said dealers were stocking a greater percentage of newer used vehicles four years ago, with those models accounting for 58 percent of their sales in the second quarter of 2019. That figure decreased to 49 percent this year.

Joseph Yoon, consumer insights analyst for Edmunds, said the used-vehicle arena is still feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Consumers held off on purchasing cars in 2020, but Yoon said that pent-up demand was unleashed in 2021 and 2022.

"There weren't enough cars to sell for all the people that needed the cars," Yoon told Automotive News. "And so when that happened, all the people that were like, 'Well, if the new-car lot is empty, I'm going to go to the used-car lot,' so they bought all the used cars as well and that inventory situation hasn't really recovered completely."

Stellantis is serving its dealers well by providing this platform to showcase and increase revenue from CPO inventory, Yoon said.

"I think that's a smart thing for them, especially because nobody wants to go to a shady dealership to buy their used car," Yoon said. "If they can tell their customers, 'Hey, we're going through some challenges with the supply and inventory right now, we know the market is changing and we know the market has shifted, largely not in your favor. But come shop with us anyway. We'll try to find you the car that will meet your budget.' "

The certified vehicles come with numerous perks, including a minimum three-month warranty and available longer-term coverage; three months of roadside assistance; finance options; and vehicle history and mileage check.

Kommor said Spoticar can be an option for people who may not want to go to the dealership in person.

"There are those that just want to transact digitally, like buying on Amazon," Kommor said. "So we want to be able to give them the choice. They want to come in? That's great. You want to buy it online, that works as well. At the end of the day, we sold the car."