It’s early in the platform’s life, but Sonic Automotive Inc.’s online EchoPark e-commerce tool has so far proved successful at selling finance and insurance products to its initial users.
Sonic launched the EchoPark digital retail option in North Carolina and recently expanded it to South Carolina, Chief Digital Officer Steve Wittman told an earnings call last month.
“Of those cars sold end-to-end online, financing penetration is 100 percent and extended warranty penetration is 50 percent,” Wittman said Feb. 16.
Wittman said this vehicle service contract penetration was similar to physical locations and consumers “love the value reframing we do” on the site. He described the latter as comparing the costs of the contract and repairs.
The F&I penetration had surpassed the company’s expectations, Wittman said.
“It sure is a great relief,” Sonic President Jeff Dyke said. He called it “fantastic news” to see online warranty and financing penetration exceed brick-and-mortar levels.
“It gives us a lot of energy in rolling that site out everywhere,” Dyke said.
CEO David Smith called in-store performance Sonic’s “benchmark for success” and indicated the site had delivered as much “if not more” than in-person interactions with customers.
“That’s a big takeaway from this call,” Smith said.
Sonic, of Charlotte, N.C., ranks No. 7 on Automotive News‘ list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., with retail sales of 93,281 new vehicles in 2020.