Australian dealers and tech companies are improving the way cars are bought and sold, using new digital tools to meet customer demand for speed and transparency - but with this comes a need to navigate the emerging risks around AI and compliance.
The majority of Australians already use digital tools to research before making purchases in store. Even in big-ticket categories like vehicles, a YouGov survey found that 21% of Australians would consider buying from online car retailers for their next purchase: highest among 18 international markets in the study.
With this in mind, Australian auto tech companies are rethinking how cars are marketed, financed, and sold. They are using new technology to build connected journeys from first browse to final purchase. But they’re also asking vendors to provide rights-cleared assets and transparent licensing, given the ongoing copyright disputes around AI-generated content.
A recent example comes from Rodar, a vehicle sourcing and finance platform. Rodar wanted to simplify aspects of car buying with a polished, end-to-end digital experience. But the effort was undermined by inconsistent, low-quality imagery, which eroded trust and made dealers’ work slower and more manual.
To solve this challenge, Rodar integrated IMAGIN.studio’s dynamic image-generation API, enabling every vehicle listing to feature rights-cleared, studio-grade visuals automatically and at scale. This upgrade delivered immediate results, including a 22% increase in session times, a 15% drop in bounce rates on key pages, and higher levels of customer trust and perceived professionalism.
Martijn Versteegen, CEO and Co-Founder at IMAGIN.studio added: “Dealers have always faced pressure to sell more, serve customers faster, and keep margins healthy. The right digital tools can help, but when they’re poorly implemented, they risk compliance issues, unhappy customers, and reputational damage.
“Australia is leading the way in digital automotive retail. Rodar and others are demonstrating how technology, applied carefully, can build trust and make the buying process simpler and more transparent.”
Australia as a proving ground for digital retail
IMAGIN.studio works with a growing list of Australian auto retail and fleet management companies, including Rodar, Autoguru, Karia, Novated Lease, and SG Fleet, reflecting the country’s rapid adoption of progressive, AI-driven automotive technology.
Leasing company Karia, for example has integrated the IMAGIN.studio API directly into its Karia Quotes platform, bringing photorealistic, studio-quality car images to customers - offering instant, configurable renders with 100% EV and extensive ICE coverage, all with on-demand colors and angles.
