CARY, N.C. -

Asbury Automotive Group launched an end-to-end digital car-buying platform Wednesday that it says will allow consumers to purchase a vehicle online in 15 minutes.

And it has some potential to help Asbury expand in the pre-owned market, as well.

Clicklane, which Asbury said is an “evolution” of its PushStart tool, is a communications technology ecosystem that the retailer worked with Gubagoo to build, and it gives consumers “one platform for the entire life cycle of vehicle ownership,” as Asbury chief executive officer and president David Hult said in a news release.

The online platform gives Asbury not only a way to improve the car-buying experience at its existing stores, but within the pre-owned segment, Asbury can enter new markets as a standalone Clicklane brand.  

“Clicklane is the latest evolution in our omni-channel strategy that we began more than four years ago,” Hult said.

“The future of the automotive retail industry relies on innovation and our ability to meet consumers where they are — online,” Hult said. “With Clicklane, we have created one platform for the entire life cycle of vehicle ownership and found the solution to what has been a fragmented process.

“Others may have pioneered the online car-buying experience, but we believe that we have perfected it.”

Among the unique amenities to Clicklane are:

— Providing penny-perfect trade-in values and loan payoffs

— Provides real payment amounts considering local taxes/fees

— A financing marketplace that includes more than 30 providers

— VIN-specific F&I products

— Consumers can sign all documents online via DocuSign

— Users can schedule service and collision appointments through the platform

“Ultimately, at the end of the day, it’s a true online retail tool that’s built around the entire immersive online purchase experience for the consumer, from end to end, 100% online, inclusive of all documentation, loan origination and everything in between,” vice president and chief marketing officer Miran Maric said during a video presentation Wednesday.

Clicklane was piloted at one of Asbury’s dealerships in Florida. The retailer has now brought it to several of its dealerships across the country, with the aim of rolling it out to all of its dealerships by the end of the first quarter.

Then next step would be for Clicklane to move into new markets where Asbury doesn’t have brick-and-mortar stores. That’s where the pre-owned focus would come into play in terms of Clicklane being a standalone brand.

Asbury previously had a Q auto standalone used-car store program, but that was focused on brick-and-mortar locations, which is where the Clicklane would diverge.

“When we started Q auto, we got it profitable. But when we looked at it, and Carvana coming into the space and it becoming a digital world, the brick-and-mortar didn’t make sense to us,” Hult said during a Q&A portion of an online video presentation Wednesday. “The engagement point was online, and our ability to offer a transparent experience in a full end-to-end solution was going to be the differentiator, that we believe.”

He added: “Years ago, we decided Q auto was profitable. There’s a large expense in doing this. What’s the benefit of the brick-and-mortar expense, when this is going to be an online transaction?”

Noting a questioner’s reference to Carvana, Hult said, “You can see their sales, with no brick-and-mortar, really, other than those vending machines, and the number of people transacting online.”

The pandemic, he said, has accelerated the willingness of consumers to buy online.