一份最新报告显示，尽管行业大力推动线上购车，美国仅有7%的新车买家最终完全在线完成交易。调查显示，28%的买家在开始时认为自己会全程线上完成，但结果是超过一半的交易仍完全线下进行。另一项秋季发布的调查发现，略高于一半的买家希望亲自签署纸质文件；12月的一项调查则显示，86%的受访者在最终购买前希望亲眼查看车辆。由于汽车是仅次于住房的第二大消费支出，这种对线下接触的偏好在统计上占据主导。
这一结果与自新冠疫情以来的行业趋势形成反差。疫情期间，线上流程因限制线下接触而加速推进，特斯拉和Rivian的直销模式，以及CarMax（1993年成立）和Carvana（2012年成立）等线上优先二手车商，验证了部分环节线上化的可行性。2024年，亚马逊推出Amazon Autos；2025年夏季，Hertz上线全流程在线购车平台；2025年秋季，福特与现代允许在部分城市通过亚马逊购买认证二手车。福特CEO在2022年曾提出“100%线上”的愿景。
数据同时显示出明显的“混合模式”。Cox发现，买家乐于在线完成浏览、比价和贷款预审批，但在涉及资金和融资时更倾向到店。加州旧金山湾区一家凯迪拉克经销店中，80%的销售文件可远程完成。Cox数据显示，去年底新车平均成交价突破50,000美元，62%的受访者认为购车或租车正变得过于昂贵，推动消费者与经销商在成本与便利性之间寻找更高效的交易路径。
A new report shows that despite strong industry pressure to move car buying online, only 7 percent of US new-car buyers completed their purchases fully online. Surveys indicate that 28 percent of buyers enter the process expecting to do everything online, yet more than half of transactions still occur entirely in person. Another survey published in the fall found that just over half of buyers wanted to physically sign paper documents, while a December survey showed that 86 percent wanted to see a car in person before finalizing. As cars rank second only to housing in consumer spending, this preference for in-person interaction dominates the data.
These results contrast with an industrywide push that accelerated during Covid-19 shutdowns. Direct-sales successes from Tesla and Rivian, and online-first used-car retailers such as CarMax (founded in 1993) and Carvana (founded in 2012), demonstrated partial online viability. Amazon launched Amazon Autos in 2024; Hertz introduced a fully online buying platform in summer 2025; and in fall 2025, Ford joined Hyundai in enabling certified pre-owned purchases on Amazon in select cities. In 2022, Ford’s CEO publicly called for “100 percent online” sales.
The data instead point to a hybrid model. Cox finds buyers are comfortable researching inventory and securing loan preapprovals online but prefer dealerships when financing decisions arise. At a Cadillac dealership in the San Francisco Bay Area, 80 percent of sales documents are executed remotely. Cox reports that the average new-vehicle transaction price passed $50,000 late last year, and 62 percent of respondents say owning or leasing a vehicle is becoming too expensive, pushing both buyers and dealers to seek efficiency without fully abandoning in-person sales.