Stock shortage forces Tesco Cars closure

5 April 2012  

GROCERY chain Tesco announced on Wednesday that it has closed its Tesco Cars online supermarket exactly 12 months after a high-profile launch.

The business was launched on 4 April 2011 after a rebranding of the established ‘Carsite’ online supermarket, which was itself a sub brand of the long-established Auto Online.

It appears that the underlying reason for the closure was poor supply of vehicles. The business sourced cars direct from leasing companies.

“Customer response was positive but good supply early on was difficult. Supply started to open up a bit but at that point we looked at the business again and decided to focus on our core business,” a statement said.

Tesco Cars never revealed how many cars it was selling, although it claimed 500,000 visitors in its first full month.

The Tesco Cars statement read: “We started Tesco Cars in good faith and we always aim to do a good job for customers. However, following a review of the business model we and Carsite, our partner, have decided that we cannot offer customers a satisfactory range of vehicles and as a result, have decided it is right to close the business.”

A call to the company confirmed that the site will be closed with immediate effect, but Tesco Autocentres and Tesco Tyres remain unaffected.