Daewoo paves way for online car sales

South Korean car manufacturer, Daewoo will be first major company to set up a Web site allowing direct sales of vehicles to customers.

The site will be trialled in California before going out across the US. Daewoo plans to follow up with a European offering too, starting in the UK.

Although the site will initially offer sales, financing and insurance only, the company is also looking at ways to provide trade-ins and part-exchanges.

Andrew Thomson, IS director at Daewoo UK, said "We are looking at launching our own site, and are currently drawing up specifications and designs." He said the company will carefully monitor the US site's progress.

A spokesman for the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF) said: "A car is the second biggest purchase most people make - I wouldn't buy a pair of jeans on the Web, never mind a car." He claimed most people use the Internet as a shop window to get information and "arm themselves with the facts" before visiting a showroom.

The RMIF spokesman said he fears people will miss "the excitement, the smell" of the showroom experience. Online car buying "is not a wise thing to do, he added. "What if the seat isn't comfortable?"