If you had to evaluate your brand today, what would it be worth?
$1,000,000? $10,000,000?
Is it $1 Trillion Like Tesla? Or is it $50,000,000,000 in the case of Carvana – a brand whose core business model is based on a website, a few car vending machines, and a fleet of delivery trucks to sell 100,000 used cars. In this case what is so special about their brand – and what makes them valuable – is the perception of convenience created at the right place and the right time.
If market cap can be used as an indication into future value and overall longevity, hhen you look at other auto retailers, they breakdown in valuation as follows:
| Market Cap (Billions) | Net Income (Millions) | Volume | |
| Carvana | $50.05 | ($171) | <100,000 |
| Carmax | $22.54 | $747 | 750,000 |
| Autonation | $8.62 | $382 | |
| Lithia | $8.77 | $470 | |
| Group 1 | $3.76 | $276 | |
| Cars.com | $1.32 | ($817) | |
| Truecar | $0.40 | $76 | |
| *Tesla | $1,075 | $690 | <500,000 |
With Carvana and Tesla at such high valuations, is this an indication of where the market is already going or is it an indication of where the market wants it to go? And what does all that mean and why is it important to local dealers?
We know people buy from people and less than 10% of buyers buy online, yet almost 100% shop online. Dealers now have an opportunity, really a competitive edge, to simply bring their expertise, experience, and service from the physical to the digital world.
It is a matter of building trust with your consumers that the dealer is not your enemy, rather they’re your friends, your neighbors, your cousins, your family … a lot of the time, you know your salespeople and you know the people down the street that you’re buying from.
And that’s key, especially when companies like Chase and Capitol One are coming in and offering vehicles directly thru your apps on your phone.
So at the end of the day, what’s important is that it’s still about delivering an excellent customer experience and building a unique brand value proposition, and delivering the same experience in person and online.
Just remember, you can’t drive a car in the Metaverse…yet.