Selling motor vehicles looks like an evolving process with the announcement that Lincoln will sell cars on Amazon.com beginning next week. Sales will be completed at the dealership but will begin on the Amazon web site. This follows the recent story in Motorcycle Product News about Kawasaki setting up dealerships for their ATV line at a number of Cabela’s retail stores. That story sparked a lot of controversy until it was explained that Cabela’s could not actually sell on the Internet, although they do advertise the vehicles on their web site.
We’ve discussed the idea of selling small displacement scooters and motorcycles in Wal-Mart before and the Cabela’s dealerships are an interesting move on Kawasaki’s part. The Lincolns on Amazon, though, may be a much bigger story and I would imagine a lot of local dealerships for both cars and motorcycles will be keeping an eye on this one. Stay tuned.
zipi dachimp says
when I was a teenager, 45 years ago, both Kawasaki and later Bridgestone
motorcycles were sold in Canadian Tire stores, (automotive parts retailer) in my hometown of Ottawa Canada. I think Sears also sold Bridgestone.
Nothing new under the sun!
Ben says
Arctic Cat sells their ATVs at bass pro shops. It’s not a good idea, really at all there are lots of reasons for this, but the most important is expertise. When you got to a dealership you need their expertise, if your dealer isn’t providing you with expertise get another, but there is no way a Cabela’s or a Bass Pro shop will be able to retain the kind of expertise that an independent dealer will. The salesmen aren’t invested in the industry and have no reason to learn more about it, they want to collect their check and get home.
Similiar to this, walmart sold the dinli (i believe it was them may have been another chinese brand) fourwheelers for a while but discontinued it and went back to simply gocarts which are basically disposable items (what walmart sells best).
If ATVs were indestructible items or disposable items this would work. Since they aren’t it won’t.