Test drives remain as critical as ever for car buyers and sellers

Car makers across the UK say test drives “remain as critical as ever”, particularly for new brands establishing themselves and those selling EVs, with which many buyers aren't familiar. “The test-drive experience is really important. We want to make the process of buying a car fun again,” said Louise Hardman, head of marketing at Polestar. As a new brand, founded only five years ago, test drives are a key part of its approach - especially in the era of EVs. “Buying a car is a big commitment, and we recognise the importance of giving people the opportunity to have that first-hand experience, especially if they’re new to electric driving and for us as a new brand,” Hardman added. Last year alone, Polestar got more than 10,000 potential buyers behind the wheel. It and others are moving away from using traditional showrooms as a base for test drives and instead are going where people are, with roadshows and pop-up test drive events in town centres and shopping centres. Taking place across the country, these events have gone from something of a novelty to one of Polestar’s key sales tactics. Polestar doesn't have dealerships, just three ‘spaces’ in Birmingham, London and Manchester, which the remote events compliment. Hardman said this helps the firm’s approach of wanting buyers to have all the information they need and without feeling pressured like they may do in a showroom. Buyers are also given an hour in the car on their own, when the average test drive length for other manufacturers is just 20 minutes, Hardman claimed. Potential buyers can even get a test drive car delivered to their home, along with a statistics-armed member of the team, increasing accessibility for the dealership-less firm. Polestar’s parent firm, Volvo, has looked at similar ways of getting people into its cars, especially since the arrival of EVs, consumer director Nicole Melillo Shaw said. She said a test drive can mean different things to different people. It could be the first time someone experiences a certain car, whereas for others it could be the final stage of confirmation that this is the car for them. As a long-established brand, Volvo has seen a change in the landscape of test drives, with, somewhat surprisingly, a “huge increase” in requests in the past decade. Like Polestar, it also has a few pop-up locations - even one at the Eden Project. Yet, other established brands, such as BMW, are sticking to a more traditional approach. It offers test drives either by booking online or heading to one of its 150 dealerships across the UK. However, what it does do differently is offer test drives of up to 24 hours. “Test drives remain as critical as ever,” BMW UK told Autocar. “Car purchases are both aspirational and highly emotive, requiring the use of touch and feel to truly experience a car and to ensure that each vehicle is suitable for the owner's lifestyle.” BMW added that, like other brands have said, the rise of EVs has made test drives even more important - both for the buyer and the car maker. “Test drives are even more important when consumers are considering fully electric vehicles, as for most it will be their first experience of this new powertrain,” BMW said. “An EV test drive allows the customer to experience this technology with an expert on hand so that any questions can be answered and charging solutions can be explained.” Another firm really aiming to get people behind the wheel is DS, as it seeks to grow brand awareness. As part of its goal of a “boutique experience” for customers, it offers a ‘test drive from your drive’ programme, in a similar vein to Polestar’s, to allow people to test a new DS without visiting a dealership. Q&A: Lousie Hardman, head of marketing, Polestar How important is the test drive? “We found the test-drive experience has been really important. We know buying a car is a big financial commitment and we recognise the importance of giving people the opportunity to have that first-hand experience, especially if they’re new to electric driving or new to Polestar.” Why pop-ups and roadshows? “We had a huge demand from people across the UK wanting to test drive the Polestar 2 but only had two spaces. But we wanted to give people that opportunity to experience the car. Therefore we had to look at things a little bit differently. We asked people who wanted to drive the cars where they lived, so we could understand how we could go to them.” What does the future hold for buying a car from Polestar? “I’d say it's a mix. Having a fully online sales model means we can be far more flexible. It means that some customers who just know they want to buy the car will go online, without ever seeing or driving the car, and buy it. But we will still notice that a lot of people, especially those who have never been in an electric car before, will want to test drive. So we need to offer both, because you can’t say that every customer is the same.”