Joydrive has a vision for changing the automotive online retail landscape: Become the first nationwide platform that allows buyers to complete their transactions without setting foot in a dealership -- for new and used cars.
The Seattle-based startup lists new and used vehicles at affiliated dealerships -- stores that Joydrive says are handpicked because they are "loved by their customers and by their employees." Customers can search for and choose a vehicle at the Joydrive website, get a trade-in offer from the dealership, arrange financing from the dealership and arrange delivery to a place of their choosing.
The 2-year-old company currently works with 48 dealerships in Washington, Oregon, Florida, Oklahoma and Texas. Its year-end goal is to make 50,000-100,000 vehicles available to customers as it expands across the country. It says 13,000 vehicles will be available within the next two weeks.
By contrast, online used-vehicle retailer Carvana has about 12,000 vehicles in its inventory.
Partnering dealerships
Joydrive founder Hunter Gorham told Automotive News the company focuses its efforts on dealerships that have already prioritized modernizing their business model.
"Joydrive is not for every dealer. Not every dealer wants to embrace that," Gorham said. "What we found is, dealers that share this vision tend to want to play with other dealers who share this vision."
Gorham, a former Ally Financial executive, said Joydrive has not seen customer pushback in terms of proceeding with online-only sales, but has seen challenges with customer education and behavior.
"The Carvanas of the world, the Vrooms of the world, have already educated the customer in certain markets that it's possible to buy a preowned car online," Gorham said. "We think that customers have been yearning for a long time a way to buy cars online."
Gorham said customers "use and join Joydrive like Netflix," making the platform convenient, but also posing challenges such as financing if a customer is online in the evenings instead of traditional business hours. To this, Gorham noted the importance of the company's relationship with its top operating dealerships.
"We're certainly not where we want to be, but we're getting better with it," Gorham said. "If it's just one-sided, I don't think Joydrive will work long term."
Changes in the industry
Tom Durant, owner of Classic Chevrolet of Grapevine, Texas, and chairman of the Texas Auto Dealers Association, told Automotive News changes in the auto business require dealers to stay on top of shifts in consumer demands.
"Everything that's come out has kind of worked against the dealer body," Durant said. "I'm not sure it's the right course, but I think with the way things are going, it's time to find out."
Durant, now a member of the company's Dealer Advisory Board, said this does not eliminate dealerships. Durant said customers will still need to be serviced for things that require in-store assistance, like an oil or tire change.
"We still have to take care of the customers the way we have been throughout the years," Durant said. "I think dealers have to be aware of the changes and be ready for them."
Many jobs are now focused on digital. But with other tasks, "It still takes a person to prepare the paperwork," Durant said.
You can reach Alexa St. John at astjohn@crain.com