Since many potential buyers research and shop for vehicles online quite extensively nowadays, Experian wanted to make a crucial piece of information — a vehicle’s history — more readily accessible so dealers can retail more units to these customers.
Unveiled this past weekend at NADA Show 2020, Experian announced an exclusive relationship with CarZing, an online vehicle shopping portal. As part of the strategic alliance to help dealers searching for cost-effective ways to showcase their inventory, stores with AutoCheck subscriptions now can list their inventory on CarZing.com and AutoCheck.com for no additional fees.
“We are committed to helping dealers streamline their processes and sell more vehicles,” said John Gray, Experian’s president of automotive, North America, in a news release. “Through our collaboration with CarZing, dealers can increase the exposure of their inventory at no additional charge, while simultaneously making it easier for consumers to find the vehicle they want.
“Additionally, with AutoCheck reports included in the listings, consumers are assured of a more transparent transaction, and can feel more confident in their vehicle choice,” Gray continued.
Consumers using the CarZing customer portal can access AutoCheck vehicle history reports to better understand and compare vehicles directly through the website. This capability includes information related to reported accidents, odometer readings, any open recalls, and if the vehicle qualifies for buyback protection.
Experian’s AutoCheck vehicle history reports are used daily by dealers and consumers to understand a vehicle’s history and make informed vehicle purchases.
Additionally, with the proprietary AutoCheck Score, dealers and consumers can understand the likelihood that a vehicle will be on the road in five years.
“We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Experian, as it furthers our mission to provide a hassle-free shopping experience for consumers,” CarZing vice president of business development Barry Lane said.
“We believe this has huge benefits for both dealers and consumers,” Lane said.
To learn more about the collaboration, visit www.autocheck.com or www.carzing.com.
Clutch Technologies finalized a pair of relationships on Monday to expand its presence in the vehicle-subscription space.
First, AmeriDrive, operator of one of the largest subscription fleets in North America, chose Clutch Technologies to power the all-new AmeriDrive portfolio of subscription services.
Then, HyreCar announced a partnership with Clutch Technologies, a Cox Automotive brand.
In a news release, AmeriDrive said it has rolled out its new offering in three locations, including south Florida, Austin, Texas, and north Atlanta, with more than 500 vehicles supporting both consumers and gig-economy drivers. The company operates one of the fastest growing subscription fleets with plans to further expand its footprint in 2020.
“Clutch’s technology gives us both the flexibility and control to manage our entire subscription fleet with one powerful, easy-to-use platform,” AmeriDrive chief executive officer Carlos Hernandez said.
“With real time visibility into our customer driving habits, we can better segment and service our base with the best vehicles, terms and pricing options to satisfy a host of driver demand patterns,” Hernandez continued.
AmeriDrive provides an alternative to vehicle ownership enabling customers to subscribe to a vehicle based on their driving needs. The company leverages Clutch’s Single Vehicle Subscription product that’s designed to give AmeriDrive a simple and easy way to maximize its used fleet while simultaneously allowing consumers access to a vehicle without the hassles of financing.
Two subscription plans will be available — a seven-day option or a 28-day option — both inclusive of insurance and maintenance.
“Customers like AmeriDrive represent why Clutch exists – to provide the technology backbone that supports the optimization of a fleet of vehicles that meet a variety of consumer profiles and ever-changing needs,” Clutch Technologies president Vince Zappa said. “As AmeriDrive expands their footprint, our technology will support the growth of their business.”
For more information on AmeriDrive’s all-new portfolio of subscription solutions, www.ameridrive.com.
More details of HyreCar, Clutch relationship
Now working together as partners, HyreCar and Clutch Technologies said they will bring to market an industry-first mobility solution enabling shared fleet offerings paired with on-demand.
The companies explained this powerful collaboration can offer dealers, OEMs and other providers with an all-inclusive solution to leverage the shift from automotive ownership to access and consumer demand for mobility alternatives.
Dealerships currently using Clutch can seamlessly integrate vehicle inventory on the HyreCar platform, connecting them directly with rideshare drivers to earn incremental recurring revenue. In turn, HyreCar’s dealer clients will be able to utilize Clutch’s industry-leading subscription software that powers a variety of convenient consumer-centric transportation solutions, such as Single Vehicle Subscription and Service Pickup and Delivery.
AmeriDrive is the partnership’s first mutual customer.
“We’re constantly innovating in order to provide the automotive industry with a variety of diverse mobility solutions,” Zappa said in a separate news release.
“Our partnership with HyreCar helps us address market needs by leveraging its unique solution to enable dealers and others to capitalize on the strong vehicle demand driven by gig economy drivers for ridesharing and delivery services,” Zappa continued.
HyreCar CEO Joe Furnari added, “Partnering with Clutch allows us to work with one of the most innovative companies in the automotive industry.
“HyreCar will be leveraging technologies built by Clutch and backed by the resources of Cox Automotive,” Furnari went on to say. “This powerful alliance will allow HyreCar and Clutch to expand services to the dealer community at scale.”
Lincoln is following the Blue Oval’s strategic path with Rivian, which continues to make headway with an array of noteworthy companies.
This week, Lincoln announced that it is working together with Rivian to develop an all-new electric vehicle previously announced as part of Ford’s original investment in Rivian.
Lincoln said in a news release that its first fully electric vehicle will join the Aviator and Corsair Grand Touring plug-in hybrid vehicles, further solidifying Lincoln’s commitment to electrification. The OEM highlighted the zero-emissions vehicle will feature connected and intuitive technologies designed to create an effortless experience for Lincoln clients.
Lincoln president Joy Falotico elaborated about how the connection with Rivian builds on the OEM’s campaign dubbed, “Quiet Flight.”
“Working with Rivian marks a pivotal point for Lincoln as we move toward a future that includes fully electric vehicles,” Falotico said. “This vehicle will take Quiet Flight to a new place — zero emissions, effortless performance and connected and intuitive technology. It’s going to be stunning.”
Lincoln has introduced four new SUVs including Corsair, Aviator and Navigator in the past three years. The all-new lineup has helped Lincoln’s global SUV sales grow 7% year-over-year and enabled the luxury automaker to deliver its best U.S. SUV sales in 16 years.
As Lincoln adds a new luxury electric vehicle to its lineup, the automaker said production of the MKZ sedan will end this year in order for the Hermosillo Assembly Plant in Mexico to prepare for production of new Ford vehicles.
The Lincoln battery electric vehicle will be built off of Rivian’s flexible skateboard platform and is part of Ford’s planned equity investment in Rivian, which began with an equity investment of $500 million announced last April.
Cox Automotive also pushed $350 million into Rivian last September.
Lincoln’s all-new vehicle also is part of Ford’s previously announced investment of more than $11.5 billion into electrification, which includes the Mustang Mach-E and a fully electric version of the F-150 pickup.
“Our vehicle development partnership with Ford is an exciting opportunity to pair our technology with Lincoln’s vision for innovation and refinement. We are proud to collaborate on Lincoln’s first fully electric vehicle,” Rivian chief executive officer RJ Scaringe said.
The burgeoning relationship with Ford and Lincoln comes alongside with what Rivian is cultivating with its own trucks.
Earlier in January, Rivian said it will integrate Amazon Alexa into the connected vehicle systems of the forthcoming R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV, giving drivers the ability to control things like HVAC and windows via Alexa, in addition to standard Alexa capabilities like making calls, playing music and more.
Sometimes when a service provider develops new technologies or processes, the firm must make a host of adjustments between a pilot program and when the solution or offering is officially launched into the market.
For IAA’s newest offering that germinated through a partnership with SpinCar, IAA chief executive officer and president John Kett told Auto Remarketing that the need to make a host of changes after a pilot wasn’t necessary for what the company says is the salvage auction industry’s first 360-degree walk-around digital experience.
On Thursday afternoon, IAA announced the introduction of IAA 360 View. Powered by SpinCar’s virtual photo imagery technology, IAA 360 View can provide online vehicle buyers with a 360-degree viewing experience for both the vehicle exterior and interior.
The technology was developed based on extensive buyer research coupled with collaboration with SpinCar at the IAA Engine House innovation center located at Chicago’s 1871. IAA 360 View can allow the buyer to rotate an image providing an interactive visual of a vehicle’s interior and exterior similar to physically walking around the vehicle.
During a conversation with Auto Remarketing, Kett recollected first being introduced to the team at SpinCar and its offerings.
“From the first time we met, we could definitely see the potential to use their technology in IAA and our industry, which had not been done before,” Kett said. “We like the technology. We like the way it was built; the simplicity for us to use it. For all of those factors, it’s been a great partnership.
“For us, we’ve had a long history of providing strong imagery to our buyers because that’s the primary way we market our vehicles through our web portal,” he continued. “To adopt the technology SpinCar developed, it did take some operational changes and some investment in technology to really begin to deploy it. We piloted it in a couple of branches to work out some of the operational details we needed to change.”
In that measured pilot, IAA highlighted the photo imagery technology resulted in higher selling prices, ranging from $300 to $600 on average, per vehicle, when compared to the control group. The company stressed that results were dependent on age, condition and geography.
In addition, IAA pointed out the pilot showed increased buyer confidence and additional bidding activity.
“Once we got down the process, then it was just a matter of rolling it out and training across our locations,” Kett said.
“With the way (SpinCar) built it, the way we were able to access the data to be able to display, it was pretty straightforward,” he continued. “Operationally, it was a change for us to prepare our vehicles for sale. We had to add a process and build it into our flow. It was working out the details to make sure we stayed efficient and effective in capturing the 360 view.”
Currently, IAA 360 View is offered in all IAA U.S. branches for vehicles 11 years and newer.
The company noted that the technology’s benefits include:
—For vehicle buyers, IAA 360 View can offer an enhanced vehicle research, bidding and buying experience. Buyers can spin the image in a complete circle to fully view the exterior and a panorama of the vehicle interior. They can also zoom in on critical areas of the vehicle for additional detail and high-resolution views.
—For vehicle sellers, the technology can provide a more accurate visual and improved merchandising of their assets, resulting in additional bids and higher returns.
Along with salvage units, Kett sees IAA 360 View as being beneficial to any commercial or dealer consignment vehicles that the company might remarket, too.
“There’s really no limit for any vehicle we sell if we feel that it’s going to add value to use this technology,” he said.
As advanced as IAA 360 View might be, Kett emphasized how important the company’s human capital and brick and mortar resources remain to the company’s fortunes.
“Our locations are critical to the service we deliver for our sellers and buyers,” he said. “Sellers require a lot of us and we need to have property where vehicles are at, so to speak, so we can get them picked up and into our protective custody as quickly as we can.
“From a buyer perspective, a convenience standpoint of having vehicles where they are so they can access and minimize transportation and expense,” he continued. “We need to have those physical facilities. It’s absolutely critical to our business, and I believe it will remain so."
Kett then added, “IAA 360 View is a dramatic improvement over what we were doing before, which was taking high-quality, high-resolution still images. We’re dramatically improving that experience and using the people who have been doing it for us all along.”
More information can be found at https://iaa-auctions.com/introducing-iaa-360-view/.
