Cars24 has announced it has partnered with The Quiet Company, an AI-driven "wellbeing business", to create the “ultimate used car buying destination” - an innovatively designed couch.

Cars24 - whch says it plans to make the Car Couch prototype available for trial in select locations in 2022 - was founded in India in 2015 and is now valued at over $1 billion dollars, with expansion into the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and more countries in the pipeline.

Australia is Cars4’s first market outside Asia and the Middle East.

According to Cars24 - which says it now has an Australiam team based in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth - online shopping has skyrocketed in the pandemic, yet research reveals only two out of five (39%) Aussies feel comfortable buying a used car online.

The tech-enabled Car Couch is designed to address concerns around shopping for a car online, with features to create a more convenient and comfortable customer experience.

It comes off the back of a new national survey - Commissioned by Cars24 in conjunction with Pure Profile and conducted online in September 2021 - that Cars24 says reveals that most Aussies (81%) would feel most comfortable buying a used car from the comfort of their own home, and more than half (53%) admitting the couch is their favourite place to shop online.

The state-of-the-art prototype replicates the Cars24 experience, which sets out to transform the way Aussies buy a used car.

Cars24 says it allows people to purchase a car in under five minutes from the comfort of their couch, and have it delivered direct to their door

“With the Cars24 inventory at their fingertips via an iPad, the ‘Car Couch’ features a private canopy screen that allows users to shop in silence, free from hassle, sales pitches and pressure; an ergonomic design to encourage the right shopping posture; and an in-built oil diffuser with warm scents for comfort buying,” says Cars24.

 “As the user browses cars online, the Car Couch even mimics the sound of each engine for the ultimate sensory experience.”

Cars24 Australia chief customer officer Erin Williamson comments: “People already buy so much from the couch – we wanted to push that idea to the extreme. Our prototype Car Couch takes the hassle out of buying a new used car, to create an experience that makes the user feel both calm and confident.

“The best part is, much of the future of used car buying is already here in the present. Anyone in Australia can now buy a quality used car from the comfort of their own couch and have it delivered direct to their door, with the ability to return within seven days at no cost – with Cars24.”

Cars24 says the new research reveals the key barriers to purchasing a car online include being unsure about the car’s quality (76%) and no option to test-drive the car (71%). It also found that a comprehensive warranty (59%), measures to ensure quality (54%) and an extended test drive period (54%) would convince Aussies to buy a used car online.

Cars24 has said it plans to make the Car Couch prototype available for trial in select locations in 2022.