Dominion Dealer Solutions is now an approved vendor for Mazda North American Operation’s (MNAO) new Digital Certified Dealer Website and Advertising Program.
Franchised dealerships can now enroll in the Mazda Digital Certified Program and choose from one of Dominion’s selection of website and digital advertising packages.
Dominion’s three website packages include Essential, Excel and Eclipse.
Mazda dealers can also select from different website accelerators such as: My Payment’s lead generation tool, fully-managed search engine optimization, fixed ops content and monthly custom display banner creation.
In addition to a reporting dashboard for various analytics data, the website packages come with a designated digital marketing manager who oversees the needs of Mazda dealers and works to resolve any issues.
“Not only are our websites responsive, but so are our people,” Dominion director of OEM partnerships Ryan Kelly said in a news release. “Dealers appreciate the white glove treatment they receive, the high level of customization, the marketing coordination and cross-product collaboration they get from our seasoned automotive veterans.”
Additionally, MNAO dealers enrolled in the Digital Certified Program can select from Dominion’s digital advertising programs such as: Essentials Search, Eclipse Search with Remarketing, Elite Search, Social Predictive Inventory, Social Dynamic Retargeting and Social Fixed Ops Lifecycle.
automotiveMastermind technology users can now choose to deliver prescreen credit offers via Equifax’s real-time credit-based solution PowerLead Offer, the company announced Thursday.
The behavior prediction technology provider has partnered with Equifax to integrate PowerLead Offer data to generate personalized, micro-targeted prescreen offers for dealers' customers.
PowerLead Offer can be used with browsing shoppers visiting the dealership or customers having their vehicle serviced.
“Every dealer wants to increase sales and customer satisfaction and in teaming up with Equifax we are able to quickly and easily help dealers fulfill that goal,” automotiveMastermind chief executive officer and co-founder Johannes Gnauck said in a news release.
“We want to provide dealers with every tool available, and now they will be able to identify which consumers are likely to buy based on results from BPS and PowerLead Offer, providing them with a firm offer of credit for financing a replacement vehicle,” he continued.
Thirty-six percent of dealer partners who have already used the integrated technology have identified an over 20 percent increase in new sales opportunities, according to Mastermind.
“There’s a myriad of reasons why consumers hesitate to engage in the traditional retail auto shopping model,” said John Giamalvo, vice president and auto dealer leader at Equifax. “Fortunately, sophisticated tools like PowerLead exist to help dealers get ahead of shoppers with a high propensity to buy by providing firm credit offers. We are very happy to join forces with automotiveMastermind, in their proactive platform, to help dealers get in front of the future of car buying.”
Additionally, to access PowerLead via Mastermind, dealers must also begin a relationship with the Equifax Offer service. Interested dealers can contact Mastermind to initiate the onboarding process.
Mercedes-Benz and global music and entertainment platform, TIDAL have partnered to provide Mercedes drivers who connect their car to the brand's me Portal with access to complimentary TIDAL HiFi membership.
By next year, Mercedes drivers will be able to stream TIDAl’s more than 50 million songs, over 185,000 music videos and special Mercedes-Benz playlists at no cost for a year, the companies announced on Tuesday.
“Thanks to the cooperation with TIDAL, we are enhancing the Mercedes me lifestyle range with a unique entertainment experience,” Mercedes-Benz Cars marketing vice president Jens Thiemer said in a news release.“Our customers can stream music and videos at home or on the go virtually unlimited. We also offer exclusive opportunities to contact artists or experience them live.”
Mercedes-Benz and TIDAL are celebrating the launch of their collaboration with an exclusive concert on Friday, Sept. 15 during the upcoming me Convention at the Frankfurt International Motor Show hosted by Mercedes-Benz and South by Southwest.
Convention participants can sign up for tickets during the convention using the event's app. Additionally, more tickets will also be raffled over the social media channels of both TIDAL and Mercedes-Benz.
“TIDAL is honored to partner with the world’s premier automobile manufacturer,” added TIDAL’s Lior Tibon. “The joint mission of superior quality and excellence is a natural synergy between both brands. Mercedes customers value ingenuity and we’re proud to share TIDAL’s elevated music and entertainment experience with them.”
General Motors dealerships can now partner with automotiveMastermind to access its technology, the company announced on Tuesday.
The company's technology shows dealers which customers are ready to buy and the reasoning behind their decisions. Its data now includes Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac.
With the addition of GM, the behavior prediction technology provider now has 15 brands utilizing its predictive analytics technology.
"As General Motors' vehicle lineup continues to evolve through 2018 — from the new Buick Regal TourX to the GMC Terrain and Chevrolet Traverse — we can help dealers now precisely target those potential buyers," Mastermind chief executive officer and co-founder Marco Schnabl said in a news release.
Mastermind said it captures thousands of data points from dealer management systems and combines it with what's known as big data.
The big data includes information from social media profiles, financial records, product and consumer lifecycle information and socio-demographics.
"We are looking forward to bringing the success we've had with Cadillac dealers — helping them sell more than 7,000 vehicles in the first half of 2017 — to, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC and are confident the Mastermind technology will help them successfully target and convert the best possible buyers into loyal customers," Andrew Gillman, vice president of sales and marketing for Mastermind, added in the release.
Additionally, Mastermind provides dealerships’ sales teams with highly personalized marketing campaigns and customer-specific motivational talking points on the desktop.
eBay Motors recently announced that it now offers online repair manuals as an add-on purchase when shoppers buy a part or accessory on eBay.com.
Consumers have access to online repair manuals for over 80 percent of vehicles on the road, according to eBay.
“With online repair manuals, we are taking the shopping experience one step further for our buyers by providing them with the parts and resources – including expert instructions – that can help shoppers make their rides an extension of their unique individuality and meet their needs,” eBay Motors vice president of parts and accessories Todd Madeiros said in a news release.
“With three parts or accessories sold on eBay every second, our end-to-end services offer huge value to our shoppers,” he said.
Online repair manuals can be viewed using an access code delivered by email following a purchase.
Additionally, all manuals can be purchased to own for 14 days, 90 days or a full year, according to eBay.
To view eBay’s selection of available manuals, visit ebay.com/motors.
Assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services provider EY is looking to make a connection of blockchain technology with vehicle-fleet management.
On Wednesday, EY today announced the launch of Tesseract, an integrated mobility platform underpinned by blockchain technology.
The company highlighted the platform is designed to facilitate fractional vehicle ownership, shared use and seamless multimodal transport. EY added that the platform can help lay the groundwork for how autonomous vehicle fleets can be owned in the future and provide access to a variety of on-demand mobility options.
EY said that Tesseract solves core mobility issues such as how to share vehicle ownership with widespread shared-use and how a multitude of mobility options can be integrated. As participants on a single platform, multiple stakeholders such as OEMs, mobility and transport companies, and cities and infrastructure providers, among others, will have the opportunity to create new value and revenue streams.
“The future of the automotive and transportation industry will be integrated, on-demand, personalized and autonomous,” EY global automotive and transportation leader Randy Miller said in a news release.
“Tesseract is a groundbreaking, innovative platform that benefits every stakeholder across the mobility ecosystem. We want Tesseract to break down barriers to entry for all stakeholders, provide the means for mobility as a service and facilitate a truly integrated ecosystem that puts consumers first in the future mobility marketplace."
With Tesseract, single vehicles, fleets and other transport services are available on the platform. Vehicles and trips are digitally logged on the blockchain, and transactions are automatically settled between owners, operators and third-party service providers through a single-source, usage-based payment system.
Ownership of the assets is flexible and can be on a full or fractional share basis.
“Tesseract will allow operators to innovate, commercialize and scale new mobility businesses and revenue models. Vehicle utilization will increase, reducing wastage and ultimately creating a greener, more sustainable transport world,” Miller said.
With new business models and income streams that will be created, EY sees funding of expensive assets such as batteries and charging infrastructure will become much easier. Investors, crowd-funders and everyday users will be able to earn money from their investment based on others' usage of vehicles and individuals who could not previously afford a vehicle will now be able to own a share of a vehicle.
“The time has come for blockchain to reshape the automotive industry,” said Paul Brody, EY’s global innovation leader of blockchain.
“Using blockchain for automotive services permits true peer-to-peer interactions between owners with minimal infrastructure requirements,” Brody continued. “Data can be stored permanently and managed securely while automated permission and transaction processing will be made much easier.”
Solar technology provider SunPower is now working with dealerships across the country to put empty rooftops and parking lots to better use with cost-saving, high-efficiency solar energy systems.
In addition to producing enough energy to significantly curtail dealership's electricity costs, SunPower said systems serve a dual purpose because solar panels can also protect what’s beneath them, such as roofs or a fleet of vehicles.
"It's no surprise that an increasing number of auto customers find solar to be a reliable, effective way to reduce electric bills while freeing up operating capital and improving their environment with emission-free energy," SunPower executive vice president Nam Nguyen said in a news release. "Through relentless innovation, SunPower has created smart, simple, and cost-effective solar systems that allow businesses in any industry maximize their investment, earning more savings over time."
In Minnesota, SunPower dealer Energy Concepts sold, designed and installed 454 kilowatts of solar across 10 locations of Luther Auto Group.
The group’s combined installations are projected to generate more than $2.1 million in electricity cost savings over 25 years, according to SunPower.
"Solar just makes good business sense in today's energy environment, and has become integral to many of our facilities' energy-efficient designs," said Linda McGinty, vice president of real estate at Luther Auto. "Over the last five years, we've worked with Energy Concepts to install over 450 kilowatts of high-efficiency SunPower solar at 10 of our dealerships across Minnesota, and have seen significant energy savings as a result."
Covert Auto of Texas currently has 125.6 kilowatts of solar installed on the roofs of the group’s Ford and Chevy dealerships in Hutto.
SunPower said the systems are expected to yield over $500,000 in energy savings over 25 years and meet 53 percent of Covert Auto’s current electricity needs.
Additionally, in Colorado, SunPower dealer Independent Power Systems installed more than 50 kilowatts of rooftop solar at Boulder Nissan.
When combined with the dealership's recent upgrade to LED lighting, the system currently meets 20 percent of Boulder Nissan’s electricity needs. The system is expected to generate $384,000 in energy savings over 25 years, according to SunPower.
"It's inspiring to help auto dealers see a return on their solar investment in five to seven years, with some becoming cash-flow positive in as little as one month," said Ryan Ferrero, chief executive officer of Ignyte Lab which partnered with Independent Power Systems. "When we can show auto dealership owners the financial benefits of using renewable energy and adopting sustainable business practices, high-quality solar energy solutions end up selling themselves. And with more than 17,000 new car dealers across the U.S., there's a huge opportunity to help more in the industry save on electricity costs with solar."
In addition to car dealers, SunPower also works with automakers like Toyota. At the Toyota Motor North America's new headquarters in Plano, Texas, the company said it is currently working with Toyota to install an 8.79-megawatt system that is expected to be the state’s largest corporate office on-site solar installation of a non-utility company.
Pearl Technology Holdings announced Wednesday it has entered into a new agreement to integrate Kelley Blue Book’s Instant Cash Offer within its ShowroomXpress (SRX) retail platform.
The integration allows consumers shopping through the SRX retail widget to get a real instant cash offer for their current vehicle.
Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer asks car owners to answer questions about their vehicle and returns a real cash offer they can apply to another vehicle or use to sell the vehicle.
“Adding the Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer to our ShowroomXpress experience will enable dealers to change the way they retail cars with a few lines of code. The added functionality of Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer will be transformative to dealers wanting to offer a different online and in-store express retail experience,” Pearl chief executive officer and founder of Bruce Thompson said in a news release.
“While we believe our dynamic widget is the most powerful automotive express retail initiative in the industry, the missing element was a credible and instant offer for a consumer’s vehicle. Instant Cash Offer provides that with the added benefit of the trusted Kelley Blue Book brand. We are very excited to be working with Kelley Blue Book on what we believe is an inevitable shift in the way vehicles are sold in the U.S.,” Thompson continued.
Additionally, ShowroomXpress displays purchase and lease offers, and the consumer can configure their transaction and pick an ideal payment.
Payments are integrated into the dealer’s finance and insurance screens anytime, and Customers or sales personnel can freely alter terms and payment changes based on regional lender programs, according to Pearl.
“Pearl is on the cutting edge with its ShowroomXpress system, and we are very pleased to be working with the Pearl team on this initiative,” added Damon Bennett senior director of syndication at KBB.
Contact At Once! announced Monday that the United States Patent and Trademark Office recently issued it a patent for a system designed to analyze messages and initiate communication sessions for clients.
The new patent was developed to enhance the service that Contact At Once! customers are able to provide consumers who wish to communicate with businesses via chat and mobile messaging sessions, according to the company.
"Contact At Once! has continually invested in technological innovations to allow in-market shoppers and businesses to message at scale through a variety of media,” Contact At Once! vice president of product and strategy Marc Hayes said in a news release.
“This latest patent is another example of our commitment to helping our brands seamlessly connect with consumers in innovative ways that are most convenient for shoppers," he said.
Additionally, the company said the newly acquired patent expands on another recent patent by Contact At Once! that features a system and method for publishing online advertisements and search results.
CDK Global announced recently that it has partnered with ActivEngage to create Concierge Chat, a messaging tool built directly into CDK Next Gen Websites.
The integration of Concierge Chat with the CDK platform provides customers with a professionally managed chat service fitted with features designed to help to drive qualified sales opportunities, the company said.
“The integration of Concierge Chat into our Next Gen websites further builds upon the fully responsive platform we’ve developed to allow dealers to connect with their customers no matter how they shop,” CDK Global vice president of product management Max Steckler said in a news release.
“As the industry continues to be flooded with standalone product innovation while lacking best-in-class integration, the creation of Concierge Chat is just one example of how CDK is meeting the challenge and enabling end-to-end automotive commerce via an open exchange,” he explained.
Concierge Chat’s notable features include:
• behavioral technology
• inventory sharing
• data mining technology
• seamless integration
ActivEngage joined the CDK Global Partner Program when it launched last year.
Currently, the program includes over 15 partners whose services are optimized and integrated across CDK Website workflows.
“CDK Global recognizes the power of giving consumers the opportunity to interact with dealers in real time via messaging solutions like chat, text or social media,” said Todd Smith, ActivEngage chief executive officer.
“Our partnership with CDK Global will allow our company to share new innovations that will help consumers navigate the purchasing journey more effectively, while creating better results for the dealer,” he added.
