Rockar Hyundai is honoured as an all-new way to buy a new car

One of Hyundai’s most innovative retail operations in Europe, the Rockar Hyundai digital store in Kent’s Bluewater Shopping Centre, has won a prestigious L.E.A.D.E.R. (Leaders in European Automotive Development, Excellence and Research) award at this year’s Automotive News Europe (ANE) annual congress in Birmingham, England.

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Presenting Rockar Hyundai with a 2015 L.E.A.D.E.R Award in the retail sector, the ANE judges and jury from the Automotive Intelligence Centre acknowledged the truly innovative nature of this all-new way of selling cars.

The judging panel stated that: “Online and in store, Rockar Hyundai is eliminating the frustrations of having to buy a car at a traditional dealership. By selling cars in the

UK via the internet 24 hours a day, shoppers can handle the entire car-buying transaction at home. It is a pure digital dealer experience with no haggling and the vehicle is delivered right to the buyer’s door.”

Tony Whitehorn, President and CEO at Hyundai Motor UK, commented: “I am delighted that Rockar Hyundai’s innovative proposition has been recognised by this prestigious industry award. Rockar Hyundai is challenging the existing automotive retail model because it is taking the product to where the customer is. Traditional car dealerships will continue to play a vital role in the car buying and ownership experience. However, this unique online and in-store option gives customers another choice, helping them to fit car ownership around their busy and constantly evolving lifestyle.”

Simon Dixon, CEO and founder of Rockar, said: “It’s a real honour to receive a L.E.A.D.E.R Award from Automotive News Europe. Rockar is challenging every preconception about how buying and selling a car should be, and it’s fantastic that this has been recognised. We’ve already had over 100,000 people visit the Rockar Hyundai store in Kent’s Bluewater Shopping Centre since its opening just over six months ago. When looking at the success of Rockar so far, it is clear that challenging the historical approach to car buying is the way forward.”

Launched in November 2014, Rockar Hyundai is the world’s first automotive digital retail experience, which offers customers an all-new way to buy a new car and meets the needs of modern shoppers who are comfortable with purchasing online.

The result of a collaboration between Hyundai and Rockar.com, the Rockar Hyundai digital store, provides a truly customer-focused experience that allows visitors to part-exchange their old car and purchase a new Hyundai – with cash or various finance packages – all at the click of a mouse or touch of a button. Visitors can buy a new car 24/7 from their home or office using a computer, tablet or smartphone. The ‘no-haggle’ pricing means everyone pays the same and throughout the process, customers need never to speak to anyone if they don’t want to.

To support the Rockar Hyundai online site a physical store was opened at Bluewater in Kent – Europe’s leading retail, leisure and entertainment destination, which attracts 27 million visitors a year.