Customer interaction software company myKaarma has bought PocketExpert — a dealership communication, online payments, and multi-point inspection platform that is gaining interest in the auto community. This serves to increase myKaarma's dealership customer count by 550 rooftops.  As a result of the purchase, the companies said, PocketExpert’s customers will join the myKaarma customer family. This shift […] [Read More]

Vroom has launched a “Last Mile” hub in the Dallas area that gives customers in a 70-mile radius “a more customized driveway experience.” The online retailer has offered vehicle delivery in the Dallas market since 2012, but is now offering more of a concierge-style service there through the hub, which is located in Euless, Texas. […] [Read More]

SureSale wants to make it easy for retailers, independent technicians and repair facilities to share trusted used-vehicle history and real-time condition information, especially to quell concerns from customers who wish they had a “mechanic friend.” To meet that objective, SureSale on Wednesday launched what the company believes to be an industry-first vehicle inspection app for […] [Read More]

Coinciding with the company saying it has reached record-breaking levels of dealer enrollment on its automated instant wholesale vehicle trade platform, CarOffer appointed one of its existing executives as chief operating officer. According to a news release distributed on Friday, CarOffer made the move effective immediately to install Scott Johnston as COO. In his new […] [Read More]

After launching its first market in Washington earlier this month, Carvana added seven new markets in the state on Wednesday. The online has now added 26 new markets since late April and is on the cusp of having 300 cities in its coverage. Last week, Carvana added two more markets in Louisiana (Shreveport and Monroe) […] [Read More]

DealerSocket is set to have new ownership. According to a news release distributed on Monday, Solera Holdings announced that it will acquire DealerSocket as well as Omnitracs, a complete fleet management platform. Financial terms were not disclosed. Solera said the acquisitions are expected to close during the second quarter and are subject to definitive agreements […] [Read More]

Though their net losses and losses from operations increased during the first quarter, both Shift and Vroom boosted their respective ecommerce unit sales by percentages that were in or near triple-digits. The online used used-car marketplaces each reported their respective Q1 results Wednesday. Starting with Shift, its quarterly revenue was a record $106.0 million, a […] [Read More]

Shift is selling cars in Texas for the first time. The used-vehicle ecommerce platform said Monday that consumers in the Austin-San Antonio region can buy and sell cars through Shift. Consumers could already sell their vehicles to Shift in four of the state’s markets, but this move marks the first full-service market where they can […] [Read More]

More potential opportunities to keep your service drive busy continue to surface as more people hit the road again for job commuting. To cater to employers who offer vehicle benefits, CarAdvise on Tuesday launched CarPerks powered by CarAdvise, the newest employee perk platform. The online vehicle maintenance and repair marketplace technology provider explained that CarPerks […] [Read More]

In what’s already been a busy year for automotive M&A, a purchase announced Tuesday involves the tech side of auto retail. SpinCar, which provides digital automotive merchandising software and data, has purchased Pulsar AI, a developer of a conversational artificial intelligence platform based out of the country of Georgia. SpinCar said the blend of Pulsar’s […] [Read More]