PHILADELPHIA, PA — Monday’s report from Automotive News revealing online used-vehicle retailer Vroom’s plans to cease its e-commerce operations has sent shockwaves through the industry. The decision, attributed to the need to preserve liquidity, has left many consumers who were promised a revolutionary way to buy or sell used vehicles by Vroom’s national advertising campaign feeling let down.
“The issue with Vroom’s business model was that despite branding themselves as a progressive online dealer, their business methods remained rooted in traditional practices dating back to Henry Ford’s Model-T era,” said George Lekas, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Motobyo, an innovative online automotive marketplace launched in August 2022. “Today’s savvy consumer, armed with a wealth of research tools, can see through such discrepancies.”
Lekas criticized Vroom for maintaining an extensive, self-owned infrastructure, including dealership lots with large vehicle inventories, inspection centers, and transport trucks. This model, he argued, was inherently cash-intensive, undermining their ability to deliver on their advertised promises to consumers.
“There’s no room for pretense – you are either a used car marketplace or merely another dealer with a website,” Lekas stated. “The inherent inefficiencies in the traditional automobile industry have claimed another victim, and it won’t be the last.”
Unlike Vroom, Motobyo positions itself as a genuine marketplace facilitating peer-to-peer transactions, thereby eliminating the inefficiencies that proved Vroom’s downfall.
“Companies must choose whose side they’re on – the consumer’s or not,” Lekas declared. “Our tech-driven marketplace empowers sellers to earn a bit more, allows buyers to save a bit more, and provides the information and resources necessary for a successful transaction on their terms. Motobyo is pro-consumer.”
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