CarExpert unveils pop-up ‘Experience Centre’ for prospective buyers
Independent Australian automotive website CarExpert.com.au has launched a pilot customer-facing showroom at Westfield Warringah Mall with over 40 new cars for prospective car buyers to check out.
The initiative has seen CarExpert take up 960sqm of retail floor space, plus a section of the Centre’s valet car park to pilot the concept. Its focus is on top-selling segments like 4×4 utes, small cars, assorted SUVs and the EV segment.
CarExpert co-founder Alborz Fallah
The difference between the CarExpert Experience Centre and a regular showroom is that there are no salespeople, and no cars being sold.
Rather, it is full of independent experts working to educate and inform visitors on a collection of cars from different brands.
In announcing the concept, the team at CarExpert said that a brand-agnostic test centre will help encourage prospective buyers without the added pressure of a showroom.
Additionally, visitors keen to make a purchase will be connected with local dealers. There also won’t be any fees or commission payable paid to CarExpert.
Co-founder Alborz Fallah said: “We are genuinely excited to be working with Westfield to provide people with an enjoyable way to discover and test drive new cars.
“As an independent car research and advisory service, we sit between buyers, manufacturers and sellers of new cars. We’re currently working with 26 very enthusiastic manufacturers and a variety of local dealer principals who see the value in making the new car decision-making process more enjoyable and convenient. Everybody wins.
“Establishing our first Centre within a world class destination like Westfield Warringah Mall on the Northern Beaches of Sydney makes a great deal of sense.
Fallah added: “Manufacturers do a great job of creating excitement for their cars, but it’s only when there is a balance between excitement and confidence that people buy them. That’s the sole reason why CarExpert exists, to provide car buyers with the information, advice and experiences they can trust to help them make confident buying decisions.
“While we don’t mind which car you buy, we do care deeply that you buy the car that’s right for you. Combining our already well-established digital auto content business with a physical showroom and agnostic test centre, gives car buyers everything they need to confidently and comfortably research their next new car.
Fallah also revealed that the concept came off the back of consistent feedback from readers that they want an easier real-world experience for buying a new car.
“In order for that to work, it needs to have the trust of the audience and be staffed by independent experts, two factors that we believe CarExpert has in droves.”
Scentre Group leasing executive, Lyn Hutcheson said automotive is a category customers feel “really passionate about” and were keen to “facilitate the transition” of the CarExpert brand into the physical retail environment, for this first-of-a-kind initiative.
“The launch of the CarExpert Experience Centre pilot at Westfield Warringah Mall shows we are providing new retail and brand experiences that go beyond traditional retail and deliver on our customer-focussed strategy.”
CarExpert’s monetisation model is one that CEO Andrew Dalton described to Mumbrella last year as “reverse subscription”, where the site charges car markers for each incremental car buyer who consumes content.
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Zanda Wilson was a reporter and podcast producer at Mumbrella, specialising in radio reporting. He left Mumbrella in September 2021.
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