A unique car retailer is leading the way as a new generation of shoppers are buying new cars.

Rockar Hyundai is a digital car showroom – offering customers a way to research vehicles as they would do online.

Selling brand new cars, the Bluewater-based dealership has a unique location and has revealed that 84% of customers are purchasing new vehicles on a finance plan.

A new generation of shoppers are taking advantage of options that put a range of new cars in their price bracket for the first time.

Selling only from its Bluewater shop and through its website, Rockar has catapulted itself to being one of the busiest car sellers in the UK, after celebrating its 100,000th customer in May – after just six months of operation.

Figures reflect that 84% of all its customers now buy new cars using a Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) agreement, meaning they will pay for the car in monthly installments.

On a typical weekday, Rockar can expect between 400 and 500 visitors, a number which rises to between 900 and 1,100 at weekends – traditional dealerships tend to to see around 750 new car customer visits every year.

The unique location also allows for a different demographic, with under 21 year olds making up around 18% of the sales – it’s also one of the few car sellers in the country with more female buyers than male, with around 60% of its clientele being women.

In research carried out before its store launched in November, Rockar found one in five new car buyers felt uncertain they were getting the best deal when shopping for a new car, with 36% said they would be more likely to replace their car if they could avoid talking to a sales person.

Rockar’s CEO and founder, Simon Dixon, said: “Three quarters of our customers tell us they’d normally buy used, but after coming into our store and learning how they could be driving a brand new car, they quickly realise where their money is better spent."

“Our website even estimates the lower running costs of new versus used, taking into account official MPG figures and Vehicle Excise Duty. If you take into account the lower servicing and maintenance costs, plus the prestige factor of new, it becomes an obvious decision.

“When you consider that the average commuter pays £2,386 a year for trains that are late and overcrowded, spending £100 a month on a brand new car suddenly looks like great value.”

The Bluewater store is open weekdays until 9pm.