The automotive sector is struggling in the current economic climate, as shown by the lower than usual sales of new cars. Despite this, the Car Dealership Rinta-Jouppi is experiencing strong growth: this year the company has managed to push its monthly market share of used car sales up to around 9%, and is currently the third largest trader of used cars in Finland.

Successful sales require successful sourcing

As the sales of new cars is stalling, the Finnish car trade is currently heavily oriented towards the sales of used cars. Accordingly, a major part of the Car Dealership Rinta-Jouppi business includes buying and selling of used cars, although the company has also established itself as a trader of other vehicles, such as motorcycles and recreational vehicles.

In September 2024, the total market for used cars in Finland grew by 1.5%. Simultaneously, the Car Dealership  Rinta-Jouppi increased its sales by 20%. Therefore, the growth of the company has been enormous compared to the overall market.

This begs the question: how did they do it? We asked Jukka Myntti, the Head of Sales and Purchases at the Car Dealership Rinta-Jouppi.

"First of all, you can't sell what you don't have, so sourcing operations play a key role. We buy about 80% of our cars in Finland, and the remaining 20% from abroad, mainly from Sweden", says Myntti.

A key point he wants to make is that most of the cars are bought from consumers.

“We also want to make the process of selling  a car as easy as possible for the consumer, in other words, we want to make both buying a new car and selling an old one easy and effortless.”

In car sales, speed is an important part of excellent customer service

In addition to successful purchasing, Myntti highlights the importance of speed in car sales.

In his view, the fast growth of the Car Dealership Rinta-Jouppi would not be possible without quick car relocations.

"You need to be able to serve your customers quickly. The location of the car must not be a problem, i.e. the cars must be able to be relocated quickly to where the interested customer is," Myntti notes. 

For nearly three years now, the Car Dealership Rinta-Jouppi has handled most of the necessary car relocations through Flovi’s online platform. Jukka Myntti has been involved in this collaboration right from the start.

According to him, the collaboration began as a pilot project in which selected dealerships across Finland tried out the car relocation service of Flovi. The good experiences gained led to a fast expansion of using Flovi’s service.

"Since the very beginning, things have worked out well. We quickly realized that this service is great, and we started using it as much as possible at every single dealership" says Myntti.

This year, cooperation has been deepened and intensified further.

The strong growth and effective cooperation is also reflected in the number of relocation orders placed by the Car Dealership Rinta-Jouppi, as between January and September 2024 this number nearly doubled.

"The Flovi team has visited to help our staff in the rollout of  the platform. It has been really important and has enabled us to take full advantage of Flovi’s service," he says.

Speed requires reliable service

More than half of the vehicle relocations ordered from Flovi by the Car Dealership Rinta-Jouppi are store-to-store relocations which are covered by Flovi’s 100% delivery promise.

According to Jukka Myntti, the promises have been fulfilled or even exceeded.

"Yesterday morning I just placed one relocation order, and the delivery promise was for today. But instead of today, we received the car yesterday, even though the relocation distance was a few hundred kilometers. Great work!”

Myntti is also especially pleased that the Flovi order portal displays the promised delivery date and time as soon as the order is placed.

"It's great, because there's a lot more to everyday life than just picking up a car. It's great to be able to tell the customer when their vehicle will be ready for them at the dealership", Myntti says.

The Car Dealership Rinta-Jouppi also delivers cars directly to the customers’ homes and picks up the cars purchased from customers. Myntti says that home deliveries and picking up purchased cars are likewise carried out in cooperation with Flovi.

A forward-thinking collaboration

It remains to be seen how the impressive rise of the Car Dealership Rinta-Jouppi to the top of the used used-car market will continue and progress in the future.

In any case, growth will not be hindered by smooth and fast car relocations.

"We really appreciate how easy and quick Flovi’s services are. All I need to do is place a transfer order online. After that, I can rest assured it will get done", says Myntti.

Overall, he describes the collaboration with Flovi as effective, smooth and pleasant

"Suggestions for improvement have been received well and earnestly. In providing feedback, I've always felt that all matters will be addressed", he says.

According to Myntti, the collaboration with Flovi has been so successful that no other car relocation options are even being considered. Myntti is also highly impressed by how committed Flovi has been to their collaboration.

"I especially respect Flovi for always making the effort to visit us in person – by train or car, and regardless of the weather. The cooperative attitude has been clear in every situation", he says.

Rinta-Joupin Autoliike

• Established in 1953

• Over 30,000 completed sales in 2023

• 28 dealerships throughout Finland

• Over 600 employees

Flovi

• Established in 2008

• Over 89,000 completed car relocations  in Finland and Sweden in 2023

• Average delivery time 26 hours for relocations between 50–150 km

• Over 50 employees
  

Pictures: Rinta-Joupin Autoliike