Carvana’s new vehicle strategy turns dealership into ‘playground,’ test-drive center with sales all online

Carvana's new vehicle franchise for Stellantis includes personalised displays and a vehicle "playground" for consumers for each of its core U.S. brands. Courtesy Carvana DALLAS — Carvana is aiming to bring its online strategy for selling used vehicles to sales of new cars and trucks. But don't expect the company to actually sell you a vehicle at one of its seven Stellantis franchised dealerships. Instead, the online vehicle retailer said it intends to use such franchised dealerships as service locations, test drive centers and potentially "playgrounds" for consumers to decide what vehicle they would like to buy through Carvana's online platforms, marking a stark contrast from how traditional franchised dealers handle new products. "Every single car that we sell, whether it's used or new, is online," Tom Taira, Carvana president of special projects who's leading the new vehicle operations, told CNBC during an interview at its franchise in Texas. "That's a very inherent difference. Even coming into the store, you're buying it online, and that's a big difference in how people think about it." Through its used vehicles sales, Carvana has become the most valuable auto retailer in the U.S. with a more than $70 billion market cap. Carvana's target with the new vehicle business is to grow its market share and customer base as well as assist used vehicle sales through trade-ins and other means, according to Taira. …