Wal-Mart Wades into Car Sales

In April Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will open kiosks in 25 of its Walmart Supercenters in the southwestern U.S. through which customers can arrange to buy and finance new or used vehicles.

The no-haggle service will be coordinated by CarSaver.com, a Miami-based online vehicle retailer that partners with dealers to deliver purchased cars. CarSaver will deploy staff to participating Walmart stores to explain the program and help customers use it. Shoppers also can select vehicles with their smartphones through CarSaver’s website.

Multi-brand retailer AutoNation Inc. says 16 of its stores—each within 15 miles of participating Walmart Supercenters—will be involved with the program at launch. The service will debut at stores in Dallas, Houston, Oklahoma City and Phoenix.

Wal-Mart and CarSaver tested the concept in Florida last year. CarSaver tells Automotive News that almost 80% of appointments scheduled through the service led to a sale, with buyers saving about $3,000 off their vehicle's sticker price.

Wal-Mart and its partners aim to expand the service nationwide within two years, linking to some 10,000 dealerships.