A new agreement between research company J.D. Power and an industrial artificial intelligence and IoT software company will allow J.D. Power to “provide insight into the behaviors and failure modes of millions of connected devices,” according to J.D. Power’s president and chief executive officer, Dave Habiger.
J.D. Power and Chicago-based Uptake Technologies will team to develop new automotive industry analytics products, in addition to analytics products for the utilities and telecommunications sector.
Through the alliance, OEMs and operators in those three industries will be able to gain actionable intelligence from newly connected devices such as manufacturing plants, vehicles, smart meters and network devices, according to J.D. Power.
J.D. Power and Uptake said the collaboration will use J.D. Power’s research and industry knowledge and Uptake’s industry-specific insights and industrial IoT platform to provide independent industry benchmark studies, data and analytics products, and customized advisory services.
Habiger of J.D. Power said adding the new analytics capabilities means the company “will provide our customers with real-time insights that open new horizons of opportunity in the design, manufacture, service and insurance of vehicles.”
The use of Uptake’s industrial AI and machine learning platform, which uses data science to turn untapped IoT data across enterprises into what J.D. Power describes as “actionable insight,” is included in the alliance. That improves manufacturing quality, vehicle efficiency, dealer service and customer experience for vehicle OEMs and drivers, according to J.D. Power.
The company said Uptake’s technology uses AI and machine learning to enrich raw data to generate actionable recommendations. That allows users to make intelligent business decisions that are “linked to financial outcomes,” according to J.D. Power.
The collaboration will also include smart home and connected real estate insight for utilities and power generation firms, J.D. Power said. It also provides connected device efficacy insight and optimization benchmark surveys for mobile network operators.
J.D. Power chief digital officer Bernardo Rodriguez said in a news release that utilities face challenges to differentiate their energy offerings with improved service and efficiency strategies to increase value for customers.
“Adding to our AI capabilities, we will leverage Uptake’s IoT AI and machine learning platform to access previously untapped data with advanced technology that will provide automotive, telecom and utility companies with new insights around customer-centric opportunities,” Rodriguez said.
Uptake founder and chief executive officer Brad Keywell said the alliance augments J.D Power’s independent industry benchmark studies and data analytics services by adding Uptake’s AI and machine learning software.
“The result is new data-informed AI-based insights and benchmarks made possible in this age of pervasive sensors and hyperconnected industry,” Keywell said. “Together with J.D. Power, we are creating a new category of industry-specific insights and benchmarks, which we believe will make visible the path towards ever higher levels of quality, productivity, and customer satisfaction.”
How vehicles move through the wholesale market continues to evolve as evident by the new remarketing partnership announced on Tuesday by Auto Financial Group (AFG) and CarLotz.
Through this relationship, AFG highlighted that its clients will have access to a comprehensive remarketing solution that’s designed to simplify their process and place vehicles for sale through an optimal channel to maximize the return on their portfolio.
According to a news release, AFG’s clients will be able to send assignments electronically. Once an assignment enters the system, using data analytics and recent retail and wholesale experience results, the vehicle is placed in the channel predicted to yield the highest return.
AFG and CarLotz said they will handle transportation and reconditioning of the vehicle, as well as all necessary paperwork. Clients can receive proceeds minus a flat service fee as soon as the vehicle sells.
“The partnership with AFG enables us to utilize our national retail remarketing footprint along with our combined wholesale expertise to ensure that AFG's clients receive the greatest possible proceeds with an easy, one-stop solution,” CarLotz chief executive officer Michael Bor said.
AFG chief executive officer Richard Epley added, “We are excited to partner with CarLotz and open up a retail remarketing option for our clients.”
Spanish language automotive consumer website Autoproyecto.com provides Spanish-language content such as vehicle reviews, news, and buying tips for new- and used-car purchases.
Media, insights, and marketing company Jumpstart Automotive Media said it has reached an exclusive ad sales representation agreement with Autoproyecto.com as its newest publishing partner.
The alliance will give manufacturers access to a “crucial demographic that is underserved today,” said Hearst Autos chief executive officer Matt Sanchez. Jumpstart is a division of Hearst Autos.
Autoproyecto.com is based in Los Angeles, and Autoproyecto LLC, which produces and distributes Spanish-language automotive content across the Web, TV, newspapers, and Over-The-Top (Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV), operates the website. Autoproyecto launched in 2013 and then shifted its content strategy to be video-first, a move it said would further support “the in-market shopper on the path to purchase.”
Autoproyecto said in a news release that it reaches Hispanic auto shoppers across the top media outlets. The company said it achieves that by producing short-form content that it says is ideal for desktop or mobile consumption, as well as long-form content for viewing on Autoproyecto TV on Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire channels.
Jumpstart reaches more than 20 million in-market shoppers a month. The company said it delivers advertising services to nearly every OEM in the United States.
“Our diverse portfolio of in-market sites has allowed us to reach shoppers along their entire purchase journey, helping to inform and guide them to the right car for their next purchase,” said Sanchez of Hearst Autos.
Autoproyecto chief executive officer and founder Camilo Alfaro, said, “Our partnership with Jumpstart will allow us to focus on diversifying content, growing our audience, and further developing products while Jumpstart will provide auto advertisers more access to this extremely valuable audience of car shoppers.”
A company description for KAR Auction Services states that it offers “innovative, technology-driven remarketing solutions” to the global wholesale used-vehicle industry.
Now, the company’s Insurance Auto Auctions business is making an investment to take that innovation further.
In what the division is describing as “an insurance claims and remarketing industry first,” IAA is investing in an innovation hub at “1871,” which IAA states is the largest technology incubator in North America.
The 1871 site is located in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, and as part of that site, IAA Engine House will be “an ideation and development center,” IAA said. At that site, IAA employees will engage in collaboration with educators, investors, mentors, technologists, buyers and sellers.
“Our insurance and automotive remarketing customers require solutions that help them decrease cycle time, increase efficiency, make data-driven decisions and, above all, improve their economic returns,” IAA chief executive officer and president John Kett said in a news release.
“We are making strategic investments to help fuel more rapid progress in the industry," Kett continued. "Being in an environment where we can share ideas and collaborate with universities and startups that are advancing technology gives us the advantage to lead the innovation of our industry.
"We can work to enhance our current technologies, but more importantly, to develop the solutions of the future," he went on to say.
The location, 1871, consists of 140,000 square feet of collaboration space. More than 1,000 inventors, designers and creators and more than 500 startups call 1871 home. The space includes various industries, and representatives of those industries share advancements and findings.
A rotation schedule of up to 20 Insurance Auto Auctions employees at a time will help as many IAA employees as possible gain exposure to the culture and shared knowledge at 1871. Each year, IAA will have access to more than 350 mentors and 1,000 events and learning programs. Activities such as client meetings, ideation sessions and product development and launch gatherings will take place at Engine House.
“IAA Engine House at 1871 will help us to foster a culture of innovation, generate ideas and launch them to full-fledged products or solutions — all while exercising an entrepreneurial spirit,” Kett said.
Enterprise dealer management system company DealerBuilt has partnered with private equity firm ParkerGale Capital, a move that DealerBuilt says will accelerate the release of in-demand technologies such as an F&I e-signature platform and a corporate electronic document management system.
DealerBuilt, formed in 2008 to bring to market an enterprise DMS for automobile dealer and dealer groups, has seen increased demand over the years for its platform that it says emphasizes being a dealer advocate for new DMS services.
Mike Trasatti, DealerBuilt chief executive officer, said in a news release that the move will broaden the company’s reach and help it “grow in a responsible way.”
“In seeking this new partnership with ParkerGale, we wanted a partner who has a like-minded approach to this market, values what we built, yet understands the complexities we face, and has similar core values and culture that we worked hard to build," Trasatti said.
The capital investment and additional resources will help DealerBuilt expand its reach by helping to create the necessary structure for continued growth. The move will also help the company more easily bring to market the features that customers request.
“In conducting our due diligence, we studied DealerBuilt and discovered a uniquely valuable culture and a resounding number of employees that care about what they do in this business, which is something we plan to continue to build on,” said ParkerGale partner Ryan Milligan. “We think this is precisely what the auto industry is looking for — a high-tech and high-touch approach to dealership technology.
“From our industry research, we know there is significant demand from dealers and OEMs to work with vendors that have both the right technology and the right company culture; one that is truly focused on the auto dealer’s future growth and success.”
Presidio Technology Partners served as the exclusive financial adviser to DealerBuilt.
Jim Robertson likes how the social media, intelligent lead response technology and consumer engagement company Digital Air Strike helps with his dealership’s customer satisfaction index score.
“The online review monitoring is always spot on and gives us the ability to review, correct and sometimes even get the customer to change or remove negative reviews,” said Robertson, who is general manager of Brown’s Manassis Kia.
Digital Air Strike is now taking its partnership with Kia a step further, as the automaker named the company a preferred partner to provide social media and reputation management for Kia dealerships for the eighth consecutive year.
Kia notes that in 2011, Digital Air Strike became the first 100-percent automotive-centric social media vendor to support Kia dealerships nationwide, with 100 percent of Digital Air Strike products being co-op eligible by Kia.
Digital Air Strike notes that it has helped more than 5,000 dealerships boost consumer response and conversions in digital and social media environments. It also says it helps dealerships generate measurable ROI. The company adds that it deploys industry-specific mobile apps, software, intelligent messaging and managed service platforms to monitor, engage, improve and manage consumer interactions for businesses in the United States, Canada and 11 additional countries. Digital Air Strike has also worked with seven of the largest automotive manufacturers.
Kia’s more than 755 dealers can now access all of Digital Air Strike’s social media and reputation management tools and technology.
“It’s a privilege to continue our great relationship with Kia Motors America and Kia dealerships nationwide,” Digital Air Strike co-founder and chief executive officer Alexi Venneri said in a news release. “Kia has long been a market leader and among the first to embrace new technology that enhances the ability for dealers to communicate with Kia consumers. We are proud to provide industry-leading social media marketing, reputation management, and response solutions that help Kia dealers engage with their customers and ultimately sell and service more vehicles.”
Dealers who want to get involved with individuals looking to participate in the ride-sharing economy have another opportunity by leveraging their idle inventory.
On Wednesday, DriveItAway announced it is partnering with MyDealerOnline to give ride-share drivers what the companies called “unprecedented choice” in selecting a temporary vehicle to drive, giving them access to hundreds of vehicles in current inventory as well as wholesale auction vehicles in many locations available through participating dealers.
With the goal of being the most dealer and driver friendly national car-sharing service for current and prospective Lyft and Uber drivers, DriveItAway said in a news release that it now has more than 1,000 vehicles available and offered on its driver app in each of two pilot regions — Philadelphia and Miami. Combined with its free credit repair and remediation program, DriveItAway insisted it is the only platform of its kind to offer a clear “path to ownership” to all of its ride-share drivers.
DriveItAway is piloting this new service with MyDealerOnline in the Philadelphia area with Empire Motors Auto Sales, and in the Miami area with AutoTrust USA.
Potential ride-share drivers looking for a vehicle that they might want to drive or rent-to-own simply has to download the app where both immediately available vehicles and those units that would be available “upon request” are displayed.
For many dealers, all or part of the car-sharing rental payments can be used toward the down payment for the purchase of the ride-share drivers chosen “dream car.”
“In the past, the ‘on demand’ employment that Lyft and Uber provide was only available to those who have an appropriate vehicle with which to drive,” DriveItAway chief executive officer John Possumato said. “Our mission at DriveItAway is to provide temporary vehicles to those who want to drive but don’t have a vehicle, by tapping into a car dealer’s inventory, but uniquely, offering a ‘path to ownership,’ as there is no getting around the fact that, longer term, it is much more economical for a ride-share driver to own their own vehicle.
“A few weeks ago, we made the industry first move of offering free credit repair for all drivers on our platform, and now we have gone one step further and have broadened vehicle selection beyond any competitive offerings as now dealers can add both sitting inventory to a driver’s selection on the app,” he continued.
“The vast inventory currently available at wholesale ‘dealer only’ auctions in the area, through cooperating dealers, so that DriveItAway alone offers our drivers true transparency to hundreds, even thousands of vehicles to choose from, available for a rent to own type purchase.” Possumato went on to say
MyDealerOnline creator Yury Kaganov also described what the partnership with DriveItAway means for his firm.
“I originally created MyDealerOnline to create an easy, transparent way car dealers could display to the public vehicles that were listed at wholesale remarketing channels, as means by which they could offer this ‘virtual’ inventory for sale and attract more buyers,” Kaganov said. “Now I think integrating it into the DriveItAway dealer focused car sharing app, for dealers who want to attract even more customers and to offer these vehicles to ride-share drivers on a rent to own basis is a perfect new age additional feature, giving ride-share driver’s maximum choice in selecting their temporary, then purchased vehicle.
“Combining the ‘virtual’ dealer supplied vehicles with ride-share, on-demand employment and credit repair through DriveItAway give unprecedented choice and opportunity to this new market,” Kaganov went on to say.
For more information, visit www.driveitaway.com/rto/.
RumbleOn is an e-commerce company that uses technology to help dealers and customers buy, sell, trade, or finance pre-owned vehicles through one online location. Expanding its partnership with Manheim into Fontana, Calif., RumbleOn notes that its distribution network from California to Washington, Pennsylvania and down to Florida, now hits all corners of the United States.
That coverage further reduces inbound freight costs without capital expenditures, according to RumbleOn.
The addition of Manheim Southern California gives RumbleOn regional partnerships in 17 markets across the country, including nine Manheim locations. Those markets include:
—Cincinnati
—Nashville, Tenn.
—Dallas
—Orlando, Fla.
—Daytona Beach, Fla.
—San Diego
—Fontana, Calif.
—San Francisco
—Greensboro, N.C.
—Statesville, N.C.
—Spokane, Wash.
—Indianapolis
—Kansas City, Kan.
—West Palm Beach, Fla.
—Madison, Wisc.
—Windsor, Conn.
—Manheim, Pa.
“By adding Fontana to our capital-light distribution network, RumbleOn further taps into one of the largest pre-owned vehicle markets in the country,” RumbleOn founder, chairman and chief executive officer Marshall Chesrown said in a news release.
“As we expand our automotive presence, Manheim’s reputation for being one of the leading reconditioning and end-to-end remarketing companies makes them a great partner for RumbleOn’s growth strategy," Chesrown continued.
Manheim senior vice president of marketplace Patrick Brennan added, “With its strong brand, RumbleOn is an incredibly valuable partner for Manheim, both as a wholesale buyer and a seller.
"Bringing their attractive inventory, 30-day guarantee, and transportation assistance into southern California is a great win for Manheim buyers in an important market for used vehicles," Brennan went on to say.
The vehicle subscription industry is no longer just an exciting concept. It has matured to where it is now an increasingly proven model. At least that is the view of Clutch Technologies president Vince Zappa. Clutch is an automotive software platform that offers vehicle subscription and mobility services.
Zappa said in a news release that new research proves his point about the maturation of the industry. Clutch Technologies, along with mobility and data analytics company, Arity, announced what it says is the first major piece of empirical research regarding driver risk profiles and insurance claims for consumers using vehicle subscription services.
The research shows that when subscribers joined the subscription service, their risk profiles showed similar distributions to those seen in traditional personal automotive insurance. In addition, the subscribers performed similarly to initial risk estimates once they joined the service.
The research also shows that traditional screening and risk measurement models from personal auto insurance are adequate to gauge the risk profile of car subscription drivers.
Clutch has long believed that driving risk does not change when a consumer moves from owning to subscribing, Zappa said. The research confirms that belief, he added.
“Arity has helped us validate that our technology can help our automotive customers acquire the subscribers that they want to target,” he said.
For the study, during the initial subscription registration process, Clutch applied screening technologies to identify each consumer’s estimated driving risk. Arity and Clutch then studied how predictions of risk compared to actual performance for these drivers using the subscription service. Clutch used Arity's proprietary model, Arity PreQual, to score 1,456 Clutch drivers across 228,000 driving days of data.
Clutch noted that since it began using PreQual as a major input of its risk management technology, Clutch’s car subscription providers have reduced premiums up to 20 percent year over year.
Clutch's and Arity's analysis of how Clutch’s actual claims compared to the predictions of Arity's model provided data that automotive insurance companies can review as more car subscription services enter the market.
Clutch's screening technology combines identity verification, motor vehicle records, Arity's PreQual scoring of driver risk, and other behavioral data that can predict risk, and companies can use the data to acquire an attractive subscriber base, according to a news release. The research showed the type of screening and risk evaluation technologies that are useful for vehicle subscription providers.
Senior vice president of Arity Data Science Grady Irey noted that the study’s findings could be “a first step and catalyst” to connect more mobility providers with insurance carriers. It will help increase the confidence of those parties that their drivers will operate the vehicles safely, Irey added.
Clutch continues using Arity PreQual in its screening process and is studying how to further study driver risk profiles with Arity. Clutch is also working with large insurance carriers to bring products to market to support its dealer and OEM customers.
A partnership between a phone call tracking company and a dealership customer relationship management system could help auto dealers who “understand how critical it is to connect with customers in a personalized, relevant way.”
Car Wars and VinSolutions say their improved integration brings enhanced lead management capabilities to dealers that use VinSolutions Connect CRM and Car Wars.
The Car Wars dealership call-tracking software automatically attaches a recording of every outbound sales call to an existing customer record in Connect CRM.
The Car Wars tool attaches call recordings to Connect CRM customer records. It also generates and attaches written call recaps. Because that streamlines workflow, according to the companies, dealership staff does not have to listen to every call to personalize customer interactions.
That automation helps to streamline productivity for BDC agents, salespeople and management teams, according to the companies. It provides lead management capabilities in VinSolutions’ platform.
Connect CRM is the main day-to-day activity hub for many dealership staff, and the new integration provides pre-authenticated, direct access to Car Wars reporting and insights.
The companies add that a streamlined click-to-call workflow will make tracking every outbound call between the systems easier. That allows sales agents to work out of customer records in Connect CRM with a holistic view of each customer’s interactions and call history. When salespeople have such a complete understanding of a customer’s interactions with a dealership, the salespeople can improve the customer’s experience, according to the companies.
Lori Wittman, general manager of VinSolutions and senior vice president of dealer software solutions at Cox Automotive, emphasized in a news release the importance of a personalized connection between dealers and customers. VinSolutions is a Cox Automotive brand.
“This integration enhances Connect CRM users’ ability to provide the personalized car-shopping experience their customers want,” Wittman said. “This collaboration between Car Wars and VinSolutions will help dealers achieve their dual goals of better connecting with customers and improving efficiency and productivity.”
“This has been a long time coming,” said Car Wars partner and executive vice president of business development Cassie Broemmer. “We’re excited to begin rolling out the new integration to our mutual clients. As the phone is the No. 1 conversion channel for dealers, we understand partnership with leading CRM providers like VinSolutions is crucial to success.”
VinSolutions will also implement Car Wars’ new communication dashboard, Call Box, at its contact center. With the new system, users will be able to click directly into a customer record in VinSolutions Connect CRM while on a live call, and they can use “click-to-call.” The companies say Call Box allows real-time insight into calls before and as they’re happening.
