Two companies are collaborating to ease concerns about “range anxiety.”
LeasePlan, a global leader in Car-as-a-Service, and charging solution provider Allego, recently announced a new partnership to provide LeasePlan electric vehicle (EV) customers with access to personal charge points at home and at work, accelerating the transition to zero emission mobility.
Officials highlighted the charge points can be used for all EVs, enable load-balancing and offer automatic reimbursement.
Under the agreement, LeasePlan’s EV drivers will also receive a charge card giving them access to more than 65,000 charging points across Europe, helping to address driver “range anxiety” — one of the key factors these company pointed to as holding back a zero-emission mobility revolution.
The scheme will initially be rolled out in in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Sweden. Allego will install charge points at both the driver’s home and office, as well as handling the ongoing management and maintenance.
LeasePlan customers will also be able to access Allego’s EV Cloud Services Platform, which provides access to billing, monitoring and analytics services.
“Starting electric is one of the simplest things we can all do to help tackle climate change,” LeasePlan chief executive officer Tex Gunning said.
“Through our partnership with Allego, we can now offer our customers not just electric cars, but a comprehensive EV solution, making the transition to electric mobility hassle free. It can be done with the stroke of a pen,” Gunning continued.
Allego chief executive officer Anja van Niersen added, “We’re proud to be a partner of LeasePlan. With our new partnership, we will not only enable LeasePlan to provide branded charging solutions to their customers, but also provide their EV drivers with access to more than 65,000 charging stations across Europe.
“From now on, LeasePlan’s EV drivers will only need one card to experience true cross-border mobility,” van Niersen went on to say.
CarSoup.com has integrated fresh multi-touch attribution technology in an effort to help dealers verify which particular marketing sources are helping them move metal on the site.
The company announced Monday that dealers can get an increased holistic view of how their vehicles sell on the site via Clarivoy’s Attribution API software.
CarSoup is a national marketplace to buy, research and sell inventory, and has about 6 million new- and used-vehicle listings combined.
The site is populated by 20,0000-plus dealers and thousands of private sellers who post cars for sale on the site.
In addition to data on vendor website traffic, attribution technology from Clarivoy can provide dealers with insight on how each vendor and marketing source has performed each month.
“We are very excited about this partnership with Clarivoy. With Clarivoy’s new Attribution API, we can finally show performance according to the amount of sold vehicles that have CarSoup.com in the buyer’s purchase journey.” CarSoup president Brian Bowman said in a news release. “Dealers will no longer be reliant on salespeople to properly source where a buyer came from. This enables us to consult with our dealers and provide data they can trust. As a result, our dealers know they are spending their marketing budget in the right place; thus, we can truly prove our value.”
Furthermore, CarSoup suggested that the latest attribution technology from the Clarivoy goes a step further than last-click attribution models to ensure that proper credit is awarded to the specific marketing sources that are responsible for swaying a customer’s vehicle purchase.
Clarivoy’s API software uses proprietary technology to match a person to multiple devices across multiple channels.
“Our Attribution API software provides dealers with monthly visibility into the total number of vehicles sales that our Attribution API partners influenced each month. This will allow CarSoup.com, armed with more data, to consult with their dealers to improve their results,” Steve White, chief executive officer at Clarivoy, said in the news release.
DealerStar DMS is the latest company to be certified by DealerSocket CRM for integration.
To save both time and double entries, automotive dealerships can now push a deal from DealerSocket directly to the DealerStar DMS in real-time.
With dealership’s vehicle inventory plus service and sales history from DealerStar, DealerSocket CRM users can use insights gained from the data to sell and service additional vehicles.
“Older DMS systems only send the vehicle inventory at night to their CRM provider,” said Sandi Jerome, president of DealerStar DMS. “DealerStar’s real-time vehicle inventory sync means that if you get in a dozen new vehicles today, they are in the DealerSocket system today – instead of tomorrow.”
Furthermore, DealerStar also announced Monday that it has recently acquired an enhanced customer sync integration with DealerSocket in addition to integrations for dealership sales and service departments.
“Duplicate customers are a real problem when you have two different databases,” added Sandi Jerome. “With our DealerSocket integration, the DealerStar system checks for a customer in DealerSocket, and when the DealerStar user makes changes in DealerStar or adds a new customer, that is immediately sent to DealerSocket.”
Service valets and advisers who are equipped with Vin-UP portable scanners and printers now have the option to give vehicle owners in the service drive more robust information that could eventually help enhance the dealership’s used-vehicle inventory.
A Vin-UP Offer Ticket now displays the latest Kelley Blue Book Trade-In Value of that vehicle. Vin-UP Distributor Mobility Sales Solutions highlighted that dealers also have the option of offering incentives to that customer and discuss the sale of their vehicle, potentially helping stores to substantially increase their stock of quality pre-owned inventory.
“Your strongest ‘leads’ drive in and out of the service lane every day, and the Vin-UP program gives the service customer an excellent starting point to consider selling their vehicle,” said Bruno Lucarelli, president of U.S. Vin-UP Distributor Mobility Sales Solutions.
“Other service lane equity programs ‘lead with the sale,’ which we now know is confirming a customer’s worst fears about entering a dealership,” Lucarelli continued. “The Vin-UP approach ‘leads with the offer,’ a business model more indicative of the ‘Amazon experience’ providing valuable information upfront to customers that creates a more informed and customer-centric decision. Vin-UP starts the ‘sales conversation’ better than any other program available, and offering trusted Kelley Blue Book Trade-In Values adds to the customer’s comfort level.”
Vin-UP can allow dealers to target vehicles up to 20 years old for instant purchase. Vin-UP is available as a monthly web-based portal subscription that includes all hardware.
And now Kelley Blue Book is part of the solution.
“With up-to-date and data-driven trade-in value information readily available, buyers and sellers can make a more confident decision about a vehicle,” said Damon Bennett, senior director of syndication for Kelley Blue Book.
“Both parties also come to the table with the same information, helping facilitate the negotiation with ease, using valuations backed by more than 90 years of experience,” Bennett added.
More details about Mobility Sales Solutions can be found at www.mssauto.com.
Automotive digital marketing and retailing technology provider DriveItNow’s patent-pending Shop-by-Payment digital marketing tool has been integrated into DealerPeak’s recently launched CarDog Solutions websites for independent dealers.
From DealerPeak’s unified Web-based platform, online visitors can access DriveItNow's Shop-by-Payment tool to determine what combination of vehicles and finance programs they qualify for in real-time, the company announced Tuesday.
“DealerPeak recently launched CarDog Solutions, a cloud-based mobile-first technology solution,” DealerPeak's chief product officer Rick McLey explained in a news release.
“We’re including websites, SEO, inventory pricing, photo and description management, CRM, automated processes, notifications, desking, evaluations, SMS, Telephony, call recording and reporting, all in a single real-time management tool.”
Meanwhile, the Shop-by-Payment tool is designed to calculate factors including based on a customer's desired payment, personalized soft-pull credit bureau information, trade-in equity, bank finance programs and VIN-specific dealer inventory.
“DriveItNow's Shop-by-Payment solution drives sales to our dealership like no other marketing tool we use,” added NIADA member Scott Shook from Shook Automotive.
Additionally, this week, DealerPeak representatives will be at the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association convention in Orlando, Fla., for a live product demonstration at booth No.1111.
“Independent dealers are playing catch-up with regard to digital marketing and retailing,” DriveItNow president Tarry Shebesta said. “Franchise dealers have been using digital services like DriveItNow and DealerPeak with great success for many years.
“Now, through our partnership, DriveItNow and DealerPeak can offer Independents an affordable service tailor-made for them that helps them compete head-to-head in the online automotive marketplace.”
Dealers managing vehicle-to-government (V2Gov) transactions across five select states can now more easily manage tax, title and registration processes by way of a new DMS integration with Auto/Mate Dealership Systems.
Via its integration program, Open/Mate, Auto/Mate announced Monday that Vitu dealers who are interested in streamlining their registration and titling process for new and used vehicles can now retrieve deal data, as well as obtain temporary tags and virtual reports of sale in real-time.
Developed by Motor Vehicle Software Corporation (MVSC), Vitu currently operates in California, Oregon, Illinois, Virginia and Montana.
“Regulatory requirements are difficult to keep up with, but the Vitu platform makes it easy with new technologies that support the changing needs of state departments of motor vehicles and dealerships,” Auto/Mate president and chief executive officer Mike Esposito said in a news release.
Along with the transparency, accuracy and security that Vitu is designed to supply, the platform can also help users easily identify and track vehicle title status listings, according to Auto/Mate.
“Integration with a top-tier DMS provider allows us to expand our customer base and help dealerships improve the efficiency of necessary, but time-consuming tasks,” added Joe Nemelka, president and chief operating officer at Vitu. “The integration process with Auto/Mate's DMS was inexpensive, fast and painless.”
In addition to Vitu, MVSC is also the provider of California's DMVdesk electronic registration and titling solution.
Mazda is taking an extra step to ensure recalled vehicles it has manufactured are repaired, especially units with faulty Takata airbags.
CCC Information Services announced on Wednesday that it is working with Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) to address vehicle safety, creating a new method for the automaker to identify recalled vehicles and help third-party repairers notify affected vehicle owners so that necessary, safety-related repairs can be made at franchised dealerships.
MNAO said it is ensuring that its Takata airbag recall data is uploaded to the CCC ONE Platform, which alerts collision repair providers when the vehicle they’re working on is part of a participating manufacturer recall.
If an open recall is detected, collision repairers are encouraged to inform the vehicle owner and supply a printed copy of the manufacturer’s recall notification. Mazda dealerships then perform all recall repairs for free.
Collision repairers across the country use the CCC ONE platform to write millions of estimates annually. By utilizing the CCC solution, MNAO is able to identify those vehicles and vehicle owners affected by the Takata airbag recall, since implementing the system in March.
“Vehicle and driver safety is our top priority,” said Robert Davis, senior vice president of special assignments for MNAO. “In the event a recall situation arises, we want to move fast, notifying drivers through as many channels as possible.
“The recall solution offered by CCC gives us another avenue to reach drivers of affected vehicles, who may not be aware of a potential recall, or whose vehicles have not yet been repaired,” Davis continued. “With so many collision repairers in the U.S. using the CCC solution every day, we found that CCC is an ideal partner for this important initiative.”
Jim Kinsherf, vice president of the OEM group at CCC added, “Mazda has expressed its commitment to vehicle safety, and we’re pleased to assist them and their drivers with these important recall notifications.
“As vehicle complexity has increased, the industry has also seen the number of recalls increase,” Kinsherf went on to say. “Since launching our recall notification system in October 2016, we have detected more than 1.2 million recalls on our platform with a closure rate of nearly 40 percent.
“By supporting auto manufacturers in their recall efforts, we can help them make our roadways safer; a win for the consumer and a win for the industry,” he concluded.
Mobile messaging is now available on Car and Driver.com, via Contact At Once! technology that can foster direct consumer-to-dealer connections from vehicle detail pages on Car and Driver’s vehicle listings platform.
Contact At Once!, a LivePerson company and Car and Driver provider Hearst Autos, announced Tuesday that the companies have partnered to add mobile messaging capabilities to Car and Driver.com dealers' VDPs.
This follows the Car and Driver's April announcement that it added a Trade-In Value tool and a Credit Score tool to make the buying process easier for both dealers and consumers.
When it comes to building relationships between auto shoppers and dealers, Contact At Once! solutions are designed to help shoppers directly text and chat with dealers.
“This partnership further transforms Car and Driver, the most trusted resource for automotive research, into the ultimate car shopping experience,” Hearst Autos senior director product innovation Brian Abrams said in a news release. “Chat and text are effective, natural ways for consumers and dealers to communicate. Adding messaging to our dealers’ VDPs enables car buyers to have their questions answered faster, which will ultimately improve the relationship between the buyer and the dealer.”
At no additional cost, dealers who advertise their inventory on Car and Driver.com can now opt into the new chat and text program powered by Contact At Once!, according to the company.
“In some of our most recent analysis, we see consumers favoring messaging over other types of communication when they are in market for a new car,” said Denise Chudy, Contact At Once! general manager. “Car and Driver.com is one of the most recognized brands in the automotive space, and we think it is a natural next step to enable shoppers to text and chat with dealers directly from the site.”
Contact At Once! said it has more than 17,000 businesses currently leveraging its solutions that are designed to connect mobile shoppers.
Another way blockchain is working its way into the automotive industry rolled out this past weekend as the technology world gathered in the Big Apple for the start of the first New York City Blockchain Week.
CarBlock, a blockchain-based transportation solution built on data generated by smart devices announced that it has joined MOBI — the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative — to explore blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) for use in the development of a digital mobility ecosystem that could make transportation safer, more affordable, and more widely available.
CarBlock is collaborating with the MOBI and other industry, government, and non-profit partners to foster a digital environment where users — both businesses and consumers — may securely record driving data, manage ride-share and car-share transactions, and store vehicle identity and usage information.
Blockchain technology can send information over a network of independent computers, known as a distributed ledger, intended to ensure that transactions are secure and data privacy, ownership rights, and integrity are protected. CarBlock and its partners believe that blockchain technology may create transparency and trust among users, reduce risk of fraud, and reduce frictions and transaction costs in mobility, such as fees or surcharges applied by third parties.
“We believe in MOBI and its broad abilities to revolutionize the transportation industry. We can see its potential in a variety of use cases, including the ability to expand our own offerings and service more drivers,” said Julie Wang, co-founder and head of ecosystems at CarBlock.
Through an open-source approach to software tools and standards, the MOBI consortium hopes to stimulate more rapid and scalable adoption of blockchain technology applications by other companies developing autonomous vehicle and mobility services. CarBlock said it is pleased to join MOBI to collaborate with global partners on the development of blockchain-enabled vehicle data and mobility services applications.
Initially, CarBlock will be working with MOBI on projects related to:
—Vehicle identity, history and data tracking
—Supply chain tracking, transparency, and efficiency
— Autonomous machine and vehicle payments
— Secure mobility ecosystem commerce
— Data markets for autonomous and human driving
— Carsharing and ride-hailing
— Usage-based mobility pricing for vehicles, insurance, energy, congestion, pollution, infrastructure, etc.
“I'm excited that MOBI is coordinating this initiative to use blockchain technology to create a more open platform where users, owners, mobility service companies, and infrastructure providers can better control and monetize their assets, including their data,” said Chris Ballinger, chief executive officer of MOBI.
“Our hope is that other industry stakeholders will join this effort to accelerate the adoption of this technology to create a new ecosystem of clean, safe, on-demand, reliable and affordable transportation.”
MOBI’s partners also include Bosch, General Motors, Ford, Renault and many others as highlighted in this previous report from Auto Remarketing.
CarBlock and MOBI launched its partnership at a celebration last Friday at the Manhattan Classic Car Club during New York City Blockchain Week.
The launch party was attended by nearly 200 guests, including industry executives, investors, thought leaders, partners and media.
CarBlock highlighted many of its partners, including MOBI, Your Mechanic and nonda, all of which are “thrilled to be partnering with a company who is set to take the transportation data industry by storm,” according to those firms.
“CarBlock is doing something that is desperately needed within the transportation industry,” said Ivan Chong, vice president of worldwide sales at nonda, a provider of app-enabled automotive accessories. “We are thrilled to be able to partner with someone so innovative and bring our own users expanded benefits and better control over their own driving data.”
As participants in the blockchain transportation industry, CarBlock said it is working to give driver’s the ability to control, and profit, off their own data by connecting drivers and providers via their ecosystem.
The company is adding new partners and has seen a huge interest by both the investor and innovator communities alike.
“We are honored to be able to host such a fun event where everyone can celebrate CarBlock, learn about what we do and network with people from around the globe,” said Christina Lockwood, head of community and communications at CarBlock.
“Often these types of events are strictly geared at industry professionals. However, we wanted to share our story with the greater New York community because CarBlock’s ultimate goal is to ease pain points and provide access to all drivers,” Lockwood went on to say.
Now members of the American International Automobile Dealers Association say they’re going to “Google” something, it could have a vastly different meaning.
On Wednesday, AIADA announced a new affinity partnership with Google.
The association highlighted that Google’s automotive team supports manufacturers and dealers by enabling them to reach the right audience with the right message in the right moments.
The team is responsible for bringing the best of Google’s consumer insights, both national and regional, to their clients to empower them to make more informed marketing and business decisions.
Google is the only company endorsed by AIADA in this unique online space.
“Today’s announcement marks the addition of Google’s innovations in web search and advertising that have made its website a top Internet property and its brand one of the most recognized in the world,” AIADA president Cody Lusk said.
“As our members move their marketing dollars from more traditional advertising venues to online, it is increasingly important that we have partnerships to help them navigate this crucial transition to the web,” Lusk continued.
Meanwhile, AIADA and Google are collaborating on a free webinar to help managers and their store teams in a session titled, “Modern Search for Automotive Dealerships.”
The free webinar will be presented by Kelly McNearney, senior automotive strategist at Google and Peter Leto, head of industry automotive retail sales at Google. McNearney and Leto plan to discuss:
1. The latest data on automotive shoppers
2. How to identify and communicate with customers in your market
There are two opportunities to watch the webinar on June 19 with a session set for 10 a.m. ET and another session scheduled for 4 p.m. ET. Store personnel can register for the free event by going to this website.
AIADA emphasized that it researches hundreds of companies serving the automobile industry and selects only those firms that provide the highest value and quality products, sales, and services to participate in the member benefits program as an affinity partner.
For more information, visit AIADA.org.
