There is quite a bit of investment in marketing aimed at pushing visitors — and subsequently, leads — to dealer websites, says Michael Murphey of Semcasting. “And the reality is, the consumer is becoming more savvy. And the consumer is becoming more private,” Murphey said. “And the amount of unknown shoppers continues to grow,” he said. […] [Read More]

The investment that Cox Automotive has made in consumer mobility over the last handful of years continued with a major move on Thursday. The company is the lead investor in a $28.61 million Series B funding round for Ridecell, a software platform used to run mobility services like carsharing, ridesharing and autonomous fleet management. Additional […] [Read More]

Last fall, Wayne Hileman learned about a pilot program designed to help dealers create car-sharing departments aimed at ride-sharing drivers, and he knew it was perfect for his used-car operations. The marketing pitch: Need a vehicle and a down-payment? Take advantage of “Lyft Your Down Payment” by becoming a driver for Lyft , renting your […] [Read More]

Drive Motors has appointed a former regional sales director at CarGurus to oversee the company’s growth across the West Coast. The company announced Wednesday that it has chosen Lauren Wolfe to serve as Drive Motors’ new senior director of consumer experience. Wolfe most recently served as president at  FZA Digital, the digital-advertising agency of fusionZONE Automotive. In […] [Read More]

Machines might be handling more queries from auto finance company customers with potential results that human representatives continually strive to reach but perhaps fall a little short. One of the experts who spoke during the International Auto Finance Network Conference hosted by White Clarke Group back in January described how this approach uses artificial intelligence to […] [Read More]

Following the $58 million in Series B funding it received earlier this month, the Berlin-based startup Frontier Car Group (FCG) has garnered a new $89 million investment. OLX Group announced Thursday that it has invested $89 million in Frontier’s recent C series funding round through its early-stage investment arm OLX Ventures. “The growth we’ve seen since our foundation in 2016 […] [Read More]

If the news in auto industry this week is any indication, safety is the biggest hot-button issue in the autonomous vehicle segment — and could be for a while. According to a survey from CarGurus released Wednesday, safety is the main cause of concern about self-driving vehicles. But interestingly enough, safety — or perhaps the […] [Read More]

In response to franchised dealers’ frustrations when struggling to source used-vehicle inventory, a Ford dealer in Delaware has launched his own tech startup to deliver a technology solution. Willis Ford managing partner Santosh Viswanathan is the founder of the new 20groupdealertrades.com, which offers a platform called SPIN where franchised dealers across the country can trade, buy […] [Read More]

A New York dealer group is looking to gain customers without waiting for “ups” to arrive at the showroom or store websites. As local residents plan for summer travel, a new transportation option is available through Mobiliti, the first multi-dealer, multi-brand, national vehicle subscription service. New Yorkers who need vehicles for summer stays in The […] [Read More]

AutoGravity announced Thursday that it has chosen Jason Bonifay, a former CDK Global executive, to serve as the company’s new vice president of engineering. At CDK, Bonifay served as VP of development for product and engineering, where he oversaw more than 100 global associates who were responsible for engineering, product management, architecture and operations at […] [Read More]