April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor will begin selling new cars online in the UK from next year, the company announced on Nov. 30.

The UK unit will launch a new Click To Buy online service from Jan. 6, allowing customers to compute the resale value of their old car, configure the new car, arrange finance and make payment online. 

Hyundai Motor's i30 hatchback

The buyer can have their new cars delivered to their home or pick them up at the nearest dealership.

Hyundai is the first automaker in the country to launch the online car dealership service.

The new portal will only offer i10, i20, i30, Tucson and Santa Fe vehicles during the initial launch, but the automaker plans to expand the lineup in the future.

“We’ve spent many years listening to customers and Click To Buy is the result. The site will make the process of buying a new car easier, simpler and clearer than ever, doing away with haggling through fixed pricing -- and offering the ability to buy a car online in just five minutes flat,” Tony Whitehorn, president and CEO of Hyundai UK, said in a statement.

Earlier in June, Hyundai Motor introduced a similar digital car dealership Click2Drive in Spain. Following the UK launch, the automaker will consider introducing the same platform in other European countries and in the US.

In addition, Hyundai launched a service to sell its luxury brand Genesis cars online in Canada on Nov. 23. 

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)