Online accessibility concerns in shaping consumer relationships in the automotive industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide practitioners of management and information technology a sense of how the automobile industry uses the internet to market its products. Design/methodology/approach – A review of the applied literature on practices and actual examples of companies' practices (obtained through personal interviews and basic empirical analysis of managers located in Pittsburgh, PA) was conducted. An analysis of data derived from web‐enabled and highly educated professionals from the metropolitan area of Pittsburgh, PA, resulted in 60 interviews from an initial sample of over 155 professionals from three area firms. Techniques reviewed include online advertising, data mining from web sites, other conventional advertising of the company web site and positioning their vehicles among the various search engines. Findings – The statistical findings lead to the general conclusion that people are using the internet with greater regularity to gain information about vehicle purchases. However, the vast majority of those surveyed still preferred to ultimately complete the purchase in person. Practical implications – The findings show that while dealers are forced to be more competitive in terms of financing and pricing, dealerships are not in danger of being cut from the vehicle purchase model, at least not in the short‐term. Originality/value – The internet has proven to be an invaluable tool for consumers who are either considering the purchase of a new car or actually in the process of doing so. In today's market, automotive manufacturers must have a significant market presence to compete and, in many cases, just to survive in a business environment where several of the major automotive manufacturers must find new markets overseas.