Fair Calculation of Future Car Prices - Thanks to Artificial Intelligence

ZURICH, 19.04.2023 - As the new standard for leasing, the start-up gowago.ch is advancing the leasing industry by consistently developing innovative, consumer-focussed products. Now, together with Migros Bank, the fintech is introducing artificial intelligence that determines the future values of vehicles in Switzerland. This provides consumers with fair and transparent rates, allowing them to take financial control of their future on the road.

Thus far, the evaluations of used car prices has been a process affected by subjectivity and approximation. Within the leasing market, the depreciation of a vehicle has commonly been measured by obsolete residual value tables. These matrices only provide rigid information about the value of the vehicle at the end of the lease, also called residual value, and disregard key factors about the car in question. Hence, consumers were bound to pre-determined methods, which included inaccuracies. The lack of data provided by this method also leads dealerships to take risk-averse approaches, resulting in lower residual values and thus higher prices for the customer.

With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), gowago.ch has developed its own in-house AI technology which facilitates the calculation of vehicle values. Co-founder of gowago.ch and CTO Iwan Gloor, who played a decisive role in the development of the AI, explains the utility of the new technology: "In future, one will be able to obtain fair residual values that have been calculated independently and on the basis of hundreds of different car features and expected movements in the car market. This will give customers an overview of how much their current car will likely be worth in the future. In addition, it will be possible to statistically record the depreciation of a specific group of vehicles - not only on the basis of make and model. For example, one will be able to investigate whether white or red vehicles are more likely to lose their value - and by how much. Accordingly, we can offer our customers targeted advice on their choice of vehicle."

Founded in 2017 in Zürich, gowago.ch is a Fintech company that provides car leasing solutions to Swiss drivers. The start-up is backed by Migros Bank and Baloise, and closely cooperates with MSS Holding for its All-in-one products. Their proprietary technology allows users to compare and choose from more than 8000 cars - all brands, all models, new and used - and order directly online, without having to request quotes. With All-in-one, customers can build personalised service packages to save time, money, and control their costs on the road. Their products can be found on the website, at certified dealerships, or directly at your favourite brand’s website. The unique, effortless, customer-centric car buying journey is combined with an intuitive, beautifully designed website and supported by a dedicated team of advisors.