In-car Internet service provider Autonet Mobile recently improved the inventory monitoring capabilities of Dealer Connect, its year-old connected car technology platform built to support fleet and dealership operations, the company announced on Monday.
Dealer Connect’s new updates allow dealership and fleet management to now view all of their connected vehicles on a single map, track mileage in real-time and see driver behaviors, which include acceleration and braking habits.
“One of the many facets that dealers and consumers love about Dealer Connect is vehicle monitoring,” Autonet Mobile chief executive officer Greg O’Neill said. “In addition to service and sales opportunities for dealers, car owners who subscribe to Autonet Mobile will find it much easier to keep their cars in good running condition and track how their vehicles are driven.”
A total of three new Autonet Mobile Lot Tracker reports containing current inventory information is now available. Additionally, “consumers who choose to subscribe to Autonet Mobile in the F&I booth can immediately benefit from enhanced monitoring of their connected vehicles,” the company said.
The connected car technology can deliver the current location, vehicle speeds and driver habits of all of their connected cars. For example, it can alert parents if any of their vehicles cross any preset geozones and curfews that can be set by owners.
Autonet Mobile collects data via an easy-to-install OBD-II device that uses a companion app available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
“It offers a simple interface to learn about vehicle issues and schedule service at participating dealerships,” the company said. “[An] automated service appointment feature also offers the potential for increased service retention by allowing dealers to send notifications for deals, service reminders and recalls.”
Autonet Mobile launched the Dealer Connect platform in April last year.
Copart on Friday launched the newest version of the Copart Mobile App, available for Apple iOS and Android devices. The Copart Mobile App is designed to give buyers the ability to attend Copart’s live auctions from anywhere.
With this new update, Copart said buyers will enjoy a faster, easier user experience.
“Each new iteration of the Copart Mobile App provides another level of value to our buyers in more than 150 countries and territories using the app,” Copart chief executive officer Jay Adair said in a news release.
“We are seeing tremendous usage rates, with more than 80 percent of those who download the app using it every three days, and the majority of those using it daily,” Adair continued.
With the Copart Mobile App update, Copart buyers get access to the following features:
—Upload licenses using the Copart license uploader
—Scan bar codes using the new lot scan feature to get vehicle details at Copart locations
—Choose a preferred language with new multi-language options available in the app settings
—Access updated search filters with the Copart smart search tool
—View vehicle videos and extended notes now available in the app
In 2013, Copart launched its first iPhone app as well as its first iPad-optimized app, providing Copart buyers with a convenient tool to view vehicles, join live online auctions and place bids. In 2015, the company launched the Android version, expanding its reach to an even broader digital audience.
Since then, the app continues to be a product of innovation and refinement. In addition to updating its mobile app, this year Copart launched an updated, mobile-responsive version of its website, Copart.com. The enhanced website is 10 times faster than the previous version.
“Through buyer surveys, website feedback forms and app store reviews, we can pinpoint our buyers' needs and update our app and website to stay ahead of the game,” said Michelle Hoffman, Copart’s vice president of marketing.
To learn more, go to at Copart.com/mobile.
ForeverCar said it understands vehicle service contracts remain important revenue generators for dealers. They provide useful safety and budget protection benefits for consumers that purchase them for new and used vehicles. The company acknowledged VSC closing rates average 35 percent to 40 percent, excluding lease and cash customers who don’t buy service contracts, and that’s a lot of opportunities that dealers are leaving on the table.
But now, ForeverCar is offering what it thinks is radical dealership digital technology that can provide dealers a revolutionary way to maximize service contract sales and gain revenue “without lifting a finger.” This VSC sales and remarketing technology will be introduced at Digital Dealer 22 next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Fla.
ForeverCar contends it’s the vehicle service contract industry’s only dealer-branded portal providing an engaging and intuitive user experience. Whether interacting with the tool in a dealership’s finance office or online, ForeverCar says it can provide the only end-to-end buying experience of its kind.
This sophisticated yet hands-off portal resides in the cloud and the F&I desktop. Customers selecting coverage for their higher mileage vehicles may finance the purchase through a vehicle installment loan or finance it directly through funding sources integrated into this platform. Either way, dealers earn commission on every sale.
ForeverCar is debuting the only technology portal of its kind that markets VSC sales to a dealer’s customer database, helping dealers monetize those original investments.
This digital self-serve dealer-branded portal includes:
• Digital marketing attracts and sells consumers' investment protection for high-mileage vehicles.
• Digital re-targeting recaptures lost VSC lead opportunities. ForeverCar’s remarketing engine can close at least 15 percent of retargeted opportunities.
• Digital sales engage the consumer at a time convenient to them. No irritating phone calls or direct mail — just a streamlined experience providing a menu of plan benefits and pricing to fit the consumer’s risk profile and budget.
ForeverCar’s platform is designed to channel the power of peer review and raises the bar for customer service and satisfaction while helping monetize old leads. Sales, service and retention will increase for any dealership interested, according to the company.
ForeverCar went on to say it can deliver these benefits, too, including
1. Provides a powerful tool for remarketing to dealer customers who declined a VSC when purchasing their vehicle.
2. Monetizes leads that did not convert the first time or converted as a vehicle sale but not a service contract.
3. Leverages the power of peer review by providing web-based customer insight from TrustPilot.
Dealers can experience this dealer-branded portal by visiting booth No. 729 at Digital Dealer 22.
To learn more about ForeverCar and to schedule a demo, go to info.forevercar.com/dealers or contact Brooke Schulz Fernandez at [email protected] or (312) 273-8303.
Over recent years, car shoppers’ increased attraction to research vehicles via a mobile device represented a noticeable shift within the industry, says Libby Murad-Patel, who is marketing and strategic insights vice president at Jumpstart Automotive Media.
In March, Murad-Patel and her team released Jumpstart’s Insights Book; A Collection of Consumer Insights Illustrating Today’s Auto Shopping Paths — its seventh annual comprehensive report detailing the research behavior of car shoppers, as well as U.S. car shopping trends.
Jumpstart's latest year-long analysis examined the shopping patterns of visitors to its portfolio of automotive websites, which represent more than 25 million in-market shoppers.
“From our audience perspective, the biggest shift that we've seen this year is that we’re getting a much more mobile heavy audience,” Murad-Patel said during a phone interview with Auto Remarketing.
She said with the mobile-heavy audience, much of the traffic brought to Jumpstart’s portfolio sites comes in directly from a search.
“What we often find is that we’re getting a lot of shoppers who are already in their consideration set and coming in through direct keyword searches, so that is driving them to our sites in a more organic fashion," added Murad-Patel.
Shoppers visiting Jumpstart’s sites exclusively from a desktop has dropped 24 percent from 2015, according to the report.
This trend implies that many car shoppers who begin their initial research for a purchase on a desktop will likely do some additional browsing from a mobile device as well.
Last year, Jumpstart said its desktop audience totaled just 37 percent, while its smartphone and tablet audience was 56 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
Additionally, when shoppers do research on their phone they are more likely to have a better idea of what they are looking for, according to Murad-Patel.
“What we often find is that we are getting a lot of shoppers who are already in their consideration set and coming in through direct keyword searches so that is driving them to our sites in a more organic fashion,” she said.
Interestingly, mobile brings more shoppers to vehicle detail pages than search.
“We’re finding that our audience is really accessing vehicle detail pages,” Murad-Patel said.
According to her assessment, 60 percent of traffic to vehicles details pages comes in through organic search, and mobile accounts for 67 to 68 percent of traffic.
“Because shoppers are actively doing their research in a more mobile fashion, they’re already into some sort of a narrow consideration set,” she said. “Having a more narrow consideration set before they even start their shopping activity is getting them to vehicle details pages faster because they’re not doing as much upper funnel research."
Even at the dealership, car shoppers have their mobile device in hand. Four in 10 shoppers use a mobile device at a dealership, and that number increases to two-thirds for millennials, and 83 percent for millennial men in particular, according to the report.
“Automotive websites have gotten a lot better with navigating the consumer to the information they need in a more efficient manner," Murad-Patel added. "They’re not having to spend as much time or as many clicks — going through one content area to another to get the information they’re looking for.”
To download the complete study, visit this website.
Black Book announced on Tuesday that its vehicle valuation insights are now available to eAutoAppraise dealer partners because the company now serves as the online trade-in solution’s new trade appraisal engine.
“We’re excited to partner with eAutoAppraise, a superior online appraisal engine that offers dealers a chance to close more deals quicker and make strong profit margins,” Black Book senior vice president of sales Jared Kalfus said in a news release. “An accurate valuation on a trade is a key component to the car-shopping experience, and customers that come equipped with a more narrow number in mind have a better experience at the dealership.”
The new partnership is geared to allow eAutoAppraise dealers to provide its customers with customizable value ranges on vehicles, which are based on uniquely tailored questions.
Ranges are produced when a customer answers a series questions aimed at obtaining details of their vehicle trade.
“This part of the vehicle shopping process is a key driver that will lead to more successful sales transactions, especially since customers will experience a less adversarial relationship with their dealer through a more conclusive, transparent valuation of their trade,” Black Book said.
The used-car valuation and residual value forecast solutions provider said that with a more specific valuation, customers can purchase their vehicle in less time.
“Our mission is to provide dealers with the best leads possible for increased sales, and to serve as the catalyst for simple vehicle sales transactions,” said Barry Brodsky, managing partner of eAutoAppraise. “The vehicle trade appraisal component is extremely crucial to any new vehicle transaction, and with Black Book powering our valuation, process we’re confident that we can offer up an experience that will increase customer satisfaction online and at the dealership.”
Along with the offerings of its new partnership, eAutoAppraise also can provide dealers a back office suite with values and direct mapping to for geo-targeting.
The website of the multi-platform brand ran by TIME’s content and creative collective The Foundry — TheDrive.com — has added a new research and shopping page named SHOP, which instantly gives users access to the latest new and used-car data and connects prospective buyers with nearby dealers.
Currently, the new digital innovation integrated across The Drive’s network can offer car buyers data and online pricing for more than 300 makes and models.
“This initiative starts with the user’s needs at the core. With this new car research platform, users can start by reading feature articles about cars and car culture, then go from imagining themselves behind the wheel straight to pricing models and connecting with dealers,” Eric Goeres, general manager of The Drive, said in a news release.
“It’s car enthusiast catnip — doubly so for those in-market.”
On SHOP, not only can users find detailed information regarding vehicles’ make, model and trim, they can also both browse inventories and manage any of pricing and quote requests, according to TIME.
The newly integrated platform was built in collaboration with automotive digital media company Detroit Trading.
“We worked closely with management and brand leadership from Time Inc. and The Drive to develop an industry-leading automotive portal for its audience,” said Pete Bonner, co-Founder and executive vice president of Detroit Trading.
“We feel this new online resource, combined with real-time phone support from our Detroit-based segment specialists, will make the process of shopping for a new vehicle responsive, informative and, most importantly, fun! We work on a lot of cutting-edge projects at Detroit Trading, but we’re especially thrilled to be part of the exciting things happening at TIME and The Drive.”
TIME said The Drive users have access to an average of 4.5 million units of used vehicle inventory and one-click connections to an online dealer network spanning all 50 U.S. states.
“The deal comes at a time when the American auto industry just posted a record year in sales and is increasingly technology driven, with consumers doing more research online than ever,” TIME said. “The Drive pursues a younger, more mobile, more affluent audience with its broad scope of “new enthusiast” editorial coverage—an expansion of traditional horsepower, reviews and wrenching automotive journalism that includes future tech, policy, aviation, infrastructure, design, gear, military and entertainment and celebrity coverage.”
The Foundry launched The Drive in 2015, it publishes a wide range of editorial content to a mobile audience of young, tech-forward auto buffs, according to TIME.
The Drive YouTube channel has almost 2 million subscribers and its videos average 5 million views each month.
AutoGravity, which leverages advanced mobile technology to help vehicle shoppers secure financing, confirmed on Monday that its network of partner dealerships has grown to more than 1,400 franchised dealers.
The growth of the dealer network coincides with AutoGravity also highlighted that over 250,0000 users — more than half of whom are millennials — have downloaded AutoGravity iOS and Android apps.
Both milestones arrived roughly a month after Black Book announced an agreement to power vehicle trade appraisal for AutoGravity.
“This newly released data confirms that there's growing demand for a consumer-friendly, mobile-first car shopping experience,” said Serge Vartanov, co-founder and chief marketing officer of AutoGravity. “Dealers and lenders understand the changing needs of consumers and have partnered with AutoGravity to empower shoppers with transparency, convenience and choice.”
Since launching in 2016, AutoGravity has achieved significant growth across the United States, securing partnerships with some of the nation's top auto finance companies, as well as four of the top five national dealer groups, representing all new and used vehicle brands available in the country.
“The momentum we see at AutoGravity underscores how eager dealerships are to embrace new technology and thrive in the digital age,” said Aleks Bogoeski, co-founder and vice president of dealer network at AutoGravity.
“Rapid growth in our dealer network provides even more options to car shoppers turning to AutoGravity,” Bogoeski continued. “By empowering our users, AutoGravity gives partner dealers unparalleled exposure to ready-to-buy customers. We built a solution where everyone wins.”
Additional data-driven findings AutoGravity shared on Monday included the following:
—New cars remain popular with boomers. AutoGravity data shows two-thirds of car shoppers ages 50 and older who pursue financing do so for new vehicles. In contrast, only half of AutoGravity car shoppers ages 18 to 25 who pursue financing do so for new vehicles.
—Japanese brands perform in California. Japanese economy and luxury car brands are more searched relative to domestic brands in California (as compared to the U.S. overall).
—Economy cars continue to be a popular choice. Economy brands rank in the top four most searched for vehicles across the U.S., and luxury brands round out the top seven.
—Millennials more cost sensitive than Gen X. Among vehicle shoppers seeking financing on AutoGravity, millennials look to borrow about 15 percent less (finance amount requested) and seek to contribute roughly 25 percent less via a cash down payment relative to shoppers ages 36 and older.
AutoGravity is available for download on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. AutoGravity is also available as a mobile-responsive web app at www.autogravity.com.
The platform allows shoppers in 46 states to obtain up to four finance offers on any make, model and trim of new or used vehicle by following four steps. The app can return personalized retail installment contract and lease offers within minutes.
CarGurus launched the company’s inaugural mass-media awareness advertising campaign with two new television ads it debuted on Monday.
Over the next 12 weeks, the company said 30-second commercials are scheduled to air on network and cable television in the cities of Nashville, Tenn., Austin, Texas and Denver, in addition to a national YouTube campaign ad.
The three test markets were tapped to enable dynamic campaign measurement, according to the company.
CarGurus created two humorous ads, one titled Detective and the other, Guru.
The concept of the two ads is that while consumers may feel they need detective skills or a guru to overcome the complexities of the car shopping process, CarGurus makes it fast and easy.
“CarGurus helps millions of consumers find great car deals and connect with top-rated local dealers, but many car shoppers still haven’t heard of us,” Sarah Welch, senior vice president of consumer marketing at CarGurus, said in a news release. “We’ve built a compelling solution that simplifies the car shopping process, enabling consumers to save time and money. We are excited to test into a channel that gives us more room to tell that story.”
The car research and shopping platform announced it teamed up with advertising agency Plum14 and director Nick Spooner of The Sweet Shop and Chirp Films for creative development and production, and Ocean Media will manage media planning.
“The company will measure TV’s performance as a driver for brand awareness and incremental traffic acquisition to inform a longer term offline marketing strategy,” the company said. “CarGurus has no plans to scale back its investments in digital marketing channels, but rather will test mass media as a complement and hopefully an accelerator to its proven digital strategy.”
The TV ads and YouTube commercial can be viewed here and through the window at the top of this page.
Insurance Auto Auctions announced on Wednesday that it has adopted and launched an updated vehicle details page on IAAI.com to streamline customer access to vehicle information.
The new page has up to 320 additional VIN details and comprehensive Hollander Interchange parts data, which helps car buyers estimate vehicle value more quickly and make better-informed bidding and buying decisions, according to IAA.
"Our online tools are built for our customers, by our customers. Their feedback and needs are the primary drivers and designers of these enhancements," Jeanene O'Brien, IAA senior vice president of global marketing, said in a news release. "By streamlining the vehicle details pages, we are able to facilitate an unmatched buying experience and deliver better information and better value."
To improve the user experience IAA said the page has a newly unified layout and added mobile functionality.
The enhanced page also loads 60 percent faster and uses 50 percent less network data.
IAA said customers can now maximize their search time and more efficiently choose the vehicles they may want to bid.
Additionally, registered buyers get unique data. Certain information can be revealed or hidden depending on a customer’s individual needs.
"Delivering a differentiated customer experience through data and technology is a strategic priority for IAA," said John Kett, chief executive officer and president of IAA. "IAA provides our customers with rapid access to the most complete vehicle information possible, enabling them to bid and buy with greater confidence and convenience."
To view the newly enhanced page, visit https://iaa-auctions.com/vehicle-details.
The National Safety Council teamed up with the University of Iowa to develop a virtual reality app that gives drivers a 360-degree tour of some of the latest driver assistance systems, so they have an understanding how the technologies work before going out on the road.
CarTech VR360, the virtual reality mobile phone app, is part of the MyCarDoesWhat initiative, which the council and university launched in 2015 to inform drivers about new vehicle technologies.
"This might be one of the few cell phone apps that help people be safer drivers," NSC president and chief executive officer Deborah Hersman said in a news release. "Virtual reality is more engaging than any owner's manual; we hope that people use the technology to discover all of the advanced driver assistance systems their vehicles have to offer."
Thirty-nine percent of drivers with new safety technologies say sometimes their vehicles performs in ways that scare or surprise them, according to a new survey released by NSC.
"MyCarDoesWhat has endeavored to address all drivers—virtual reality is a novel medium sure to excite a new generation of road users," said Daniel McGehee, a professor in the college of engineering at the University of Iowa and director of the National Advanced Driving Simulator.
Fatal car crashes are climbing and claimed as many as 40,000 lives last year, according to NSC preliminary estimates.
While technology can help prevent crashes, NSC said drivers need a solid understanding of safety systems to use them safely.
The following are six driver assistance features CarTech VR360 explains:
- Automatic emergency braking
- Blind spot monitoring
- Back-up camera
- Lane departure warning
- Adaptive cruise control
- Drowsiness alert
The app is designed for both iOS and Android operating systems. Instructions for a free download of the app can be found here.
