Stellantis has launched online direct sales of used cars in the UK today through its Spoticar division.

The carmaker group says it is initially offering more than 100 used cars as Spoticar Direct, to be bought directly from its reconditioning centre at Corby via its website spoticar.co.uk, which also markets the dealer network's approved used cars.

It means that consumers can select certain used Peugeots, Citroens, Fiats and Vauxhalls, which typically could be from Stellantis's company car scheme or captive finance partners, to purchase from their PC.

Buyers will take delivery of their car at a Spoticar dealership of their choice, with no delivery costs.

AM checked the website at midday Friday, July 21, and found just 18 Spoticar Direct cars available.

The Spoticar used vehicle network for Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Jeep and Abarth was launched in the UK in 2021, several years after Spoticar started in mainland Europe, and now numbers around 350 forecourts across the various brands' franchised dealerships.

"With Spoticar Direct we can now offer a ‘phygital’ pathway that makes an even wider range of used vehicles available throughout the UK using our SPOTICAR network.

"Innovation also enables us to continue to strengthen SPOTICAR's leadership position," said Nicola Dobson, director for pre-owned vehicles at Stellantis UK.

During their online journey, buyers can request the car's transport to a dealership for a test drive, and will receive advice from a call centre to help them make their choice. The final stages of the purchasing process, such as payment and delivery, will be carried out at the retail site chosen by the customer.

She said a crucial moment for Spoticar is that it is the network's experts who will hand over the vehicle.

Spoticar was launched last decade to establish the then PSA Group, now Stellantis, as a multi-brand used vehicle operator.

At the time Marc Lechantre, PSA's used vehicle business unit vice president, said: "The new offering will create a stress-free experience for customers, whether they want to buy their used car online, at a dealership ot have it delivered directly to their door."

In a growing trend, many car manufacturers are keen to explore direct to consumer sales of new cars, and pre-owned vehicles, to determine if they can improve their own profitability per unit and reduce their distribution costs while also gaining data about car buyers and delivering a consistent experience.

Mercedes-Benz, which adopted a D2C model this year for new car sales, has been offering its own used cars for sale online for several years, and Volvo Car UK launched D2C online used car sales in 2022.