While Volkswagen has been facing NOx-emission-related issues in North America for its diesel vehicles, the company has also been handling a CO2-emission-related issue in Europe. Wednesday, the company says that issue is “largely concluded.”
Questions arose from the German government’s Federal Motor Transport Authority a month ago estimating that approximately 800,000 vehicles manufactured by VW’s various companies were under suspicion for producing higher levels of CO2 emissions and achieving lower fuel efficiency than originally posted.
Today, VW admits that the discrepancy was factual but that it only affects approximately 36,000 vehicles from nine model variants in Europe. They also reaffirm that no unlawful change has been made to the vehicles’ stated fuel consumption or their CO2 figures and that the handful of vehicles that were found with discrepancies will have their catalogues updated to reflect more accurate figures.
According to VW, the only deviations found in the figures for the nine model variants amount to a few grams of CO2 on average, and that the nine models account for only 0.5 percent of the volume of the VW brand. VW also says that none of the vehicles have misrepresented fuel economies.
VW plans to have all of the affected model variants remeasured by a neutral technical service under the supervision of the appropriate authority by Dec. 25.
To reiterate, this issue is contained to Europe and does not include products and services provided by Volkswagen Group of America or Volkswagen Canada or any of their North American affiliates.
In other VW news, VW AG will host a live press conference tomorrow morning to provide "information on the current status of the clarification process concerning the diesel issue and on the realignment of the group." Those in North America that are curious and early-to-rise can check out a live stream of the press conference at 4:20 a.m. EST here.
Cox Automotive sees all kinds of customers pouring into its online portals — from dealers in the auction lanes to potential buyers considering a vehicle purchase.
Open source technology solutions provider Red Hat highlighted on Tuesday how Cox Automotive deployed three major tools — Red Hat CloudForms, Red Hat Gluster Storage and Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization — to scale its internal cloud infrastructure to meet the increasing requests from its customer base.
Since moving to Red Hat CloudForms, officials said Cox Automotive greatly decrease its production development time and has achieved “millions” in savings.
As the Internet has emerged as the way for user to research vehicles, Red Hat detailed Cox Automotive has digitized and moved its major existing brands online, making it easy to use familiar companies such as Autotrader, Manheim and Kelley Blue Book. However, the companies acknowledged that increased traffic and requests for IT service were slowing deployment and service times.
Building on a continuing relationship with Red Hat that dates from 2005, Cox Automotive chose Red Hat CloudForms to manage its cloud infrastructure and deliver self-service access to IT resources for its portfolio of more than 25 brands. With Red Hat CloudForms' single unified interface, workers from all areas of the company serving various customer groups can view a shared IT environment, enabling easy access to self-service offerings for developers, enterprise architects and QA specialists.
Red Hat CloudForms can enable various Cox Automotive business units to work together more cohesively and deliver new products to consumers faster, cutting a nearly three-week wait time for new product development and testing down to under twenty minutes.
The Red Hat CloudForms dashboard also can provide cross-system visibility and granular metrics, enabling the Cox Automotive teams to better use the capacity in its environment. Cox Automotive has also built an Apache Hadoop Infrastructure based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux as the foundation of its big data initiative, also using Red Hat Gluster Storage, an open software-defined file storage system, and Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization as part of its big data strategy. Presenting more data in one location enables Cox Automotive to see the interactions between customers and its various websites, creating a more customized shopping experience for users.
“Red Hat CloudForms is a Swiss Army knife,” said Jason Cornell, manager of cloud and infrastructure automation at Cox Automotive. “You can do many different things in the IT environment with it — including insights and intelligence on our infrastructure.
“We analyzed the numbers to see what resources we deployed and how much time it took, and we realized that with the Red Hat solution, we saved almost 10 years of time spent waiting for resources to be delivered and almost $5 million in soft savings since 2014,” Cornell continued.
Beyond those dollar figures Cox Automotive is using Red Hat Insights, Red Hat's operations analytics service, to proactively manage its IT environment. Red Hat Insights can bring Red Hat's expertise supporting hundreds of thousands of customers and provides real-time risk assessments related to critical areas of IT infrastructure.
With Red Hat Insights, Cox Automotive can identify specific, verified deployment issues and receive guidance to help resolve risks related to system stability, performance and security – enabling them to avoid disruption and optimize performance of their IT operations.
“With Red Hat Insights, we can resolve critical issues before they occur,” Cornell said. “We no longer have to look at individual systems because we have one tool that gives us much more comprehensive and actionable information on our infrastructure.
“It’s important to have a company like Red Hat that’s working toward the same goals we are, that understands our business and what we’re trying to accomplish, and understands our infrastructure and our businesses,” he continued.
“As the market continues to change and new technologies are released, we’ll continue to change as well, and we expect Red Hat to be an important partner to help us on that journey,” Cornell went on to say.
Red Hat vice president of management Joe Fitzgerald described what it’s like to have a customer such as Cox Automotive.
“Cox Automotive is a fantastic example of a company that has embraced digital transformation to better meet its customers’ needs,” Fitzgerald said. “With this digital transformation comes new management challenges for cloud infrastructure, and user expectations for new self service capabilities.
“With its Red Hat CloudForms-based solution, I’m thrilled that Cox Automotive can not only effectively manage this hybrid cloud infrastructure, but that they have also experienced compelling ROI not only in terms of costs, but also significantly accelerated production development times,” Fitzgerald added.
Less than two months after being purchased by Raycom Media, there’s more news coming out of PureCars.
This time around, the automotive digital advertising platform unveiled an Inventory Targeting feature that lets dealers take their daily inventory data and use it to allocate digital advertising spend.
Through this solution, which is within PureCars’ SmartAdvertising platform, dealers can view and earmark ad dollars based on the following:
— How well the inventory is merchandised
— The performance of those vehicles at their store and elsewhere in their market
PureCars said in its news release that vehicles can be filtered by condition and make through this platform, and that dealers “can then view a model’s digital advertising performance to determine if marketing efforts are concentrated on the right vehicles in the right way.”
The dashboard allows dealers to view inventory advertised, spend, campaign performance and performance in market.
“The capability to better decide where to spend valuable advertising budgets will help dealers tremendously,” said Jeremy Anspach, chief executive officer and founder of PureCars. “When dealers can quickly see what models need a sales boost, they can easily adjust their advertising budget to push models ready to move off the lot. We look forward to seeing the positive impact on our clients’ sales and helping them achieve success.”
SmartAdvertising is designed to determine budget allocation and bidding by an analysis of:
— How strongly the cars are merchandised at the store
— The website activity for those cars
— Demand for those cars
The platform continually tracks ads at the ZIP code level, the company said. This allows the dealer to make adjustments needed to target the right consumers with the right cars and in the right location, PureCars said.
“Digital advertising is still new to many dealers, so we wanted to empower them to make better decisions for their business,” said Anspach. “Other digital solutions are vertical agnostic and do not address the specific challenges dealers face with digital advertising. SmartAdvertising pulls in data from IMS, DMS and website analytics to efficiently use a dealer's limited budget to target the lowest funnel buyers and convert them to purchase on the lot.”
Auto Auction Services Corp.’s AutoIMS has announced a new Sale Calendar module that allows the consignor users of AutoIMS.com a quick-glance view of recent and upcoming auction sales.
It also allows for AutoIMS users to utilize the new tool's “Sale Snapshot” feature, which shows the run-versus-sold percentage for each recent auction.
“The feedback on this new module is overwhelmingly positive so far,” said Joe Miller, director of customer service at AutoIMS. “We are committed to increasing the value proposition of our core inventory management offering, listening to what the industry needs, and delivering against those innovative ideas.”
The Sale Calendar module allows for AutoIMS users to see the number of vehicles sold and the sale percentage for previous auction days as well as the number of vehicles set for upcoming sales along with the percentage of vehicles with a floor price. According to the company, the system is simple and color-coded, helping users recognize the areas that need the most attention.
Each calendar entry is also hyperlinked, allowing for the use of customizable reports.
“We are proud to offer this feature at the request of our consignors,” said Mike Broe, the chief executive officer of AASC. “The Sale Calendar is one of the items the industry told us would add value, and we are grateful for the ongoing support and trust our clients put in to AutoIMS by asking us to deliver for them. We don’t take that for granted, and we’re always delighted to offer new functionality as a way to express our gratitude.”
For more information on AutoIMS, visit its site here.
Dominion Dealer Solutions announced Monday that both its customer relationship management and internet lead management systems have completely integrated with the General Motors Card Program.
Now, GM dealers that utilize either the Dominion Sales Center and/or the Dominion Web Control platforms will be able to automatically pull info regarding GM cardholders’ earnings.
“This integration will improve the operational efficiencies of our CRM and ILM customers and, as a result, increase our customers’ ability to better serve their car shoppers,” said John Reed, Dominion’s vice president of product strategy and management. “GM continues to be a good partner in recognizing integration opportunities that facilitate retail business operations.”
A GM partner for over ten years, Dominion Dealer Solutions’ integration with the GM Card Program will also be a feature for DominionCMX, Dominion’s new CRM offering.
For more information, visit the Dominion Dealer Solutions site here.
Chrome Data Solutions, in partnership with SpinCar, have collaborated to create a 360-degree vehicle rotation platform to enhance vehicle description pages.
Perhaps the most striking feature that differentiates the tool from other similar offerings is the inclusion of “hot spots,” which allow the seller to highlight features of each vehicle and provide the customer another way to learn about the vehicle and interact with the VDP.
"SpinCar has a track record of bringing high-performing merchandising solutions to the automotive space,” said Devin Daly, SpinCar’s chief executive officer. “With the help of Chrome Data's reputation and network of industry partners, we will be able to deliver these solutions at scale much more easily and quickly. This will have a powerful impact on dealership leads and sales.”
Through the partnership, Chrome Data and SpinCar will provide two new dealership products, as described below by the companies:
- Stock Image Gallery Tool leverages Chrome Data's comprehensive library of stock imagery along with SpinCar's proprietary merchandising technology to give portals, resellers, and dealers a state-of-the-art way to show off their unique vehicles, via interactive 360-degree interior/exterior views and hotspots, while gathering unprecedented user interaction data.
- Dealer Inventory Image Tool allows dealers to showcase actual inventory in an engaging and interactive way, and take advantage of a solution which has had impressive success in the automotive space after a strong beginning in retail ecommerce.
"SpinCar offers a best-of-breed merchandising solution that has incredible impact on website performance," said Andrew Lumsden, vice president of Chrome Data’s Product and IP Licensing Group. "We're excited to combine proven SpinCar technology with our industry-leading images to give dealers a solution that truly captures the in-store experience for online shoppers."
Car Harmony, founded this year as part of the Hankey Group, announced the launch of its new online car-shopping service on Tuesday.
The company is backed by fellow Hankey Group members, which includes well-known auto industry companies such as Westlake Financial Services, Nowcom Corp. and Midway Car Rental.
The company, co-founded by the 2014 SubPrime Auto Finance Executive of the Year Ian Anderson, as well as Craig Nehamen and Casey Harmon, seeks to differentiate itself from other similar services by offering a three-day, limited-mile, no-obligation trial of the vehicle prior to sale.
Nehamen, who earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, hopes Car Harmony will “shake up” the car-sales industry with this limited trial offering, which is made possible via a rental contract.
“While there have been some improvements, competitors in the online car-buying market don’t go far enough — they often force clients to commit to a purchase online before ever trialing the vehicle,” Nehamen said. “We want to make buying a car an exciting, pleasant experience and remove the upfront anxiety.”
Another feature the company touts is its ease of finance, which Car Harmony says is made possible via its direct partnership with its financing partner, providing qualification offers online prior to sale and having those pre-filled forms provided in the glove box during the testing trial. If they decide to purchase the vehicle, they can fill out the forms, put them in the provided pre-paid envelope, and mail to Car Harmony.
“With the aid of Westlake Financial Services, Nowcom and Midway Car Rental, Car Harmony has a huge opportunity to change the way a customer purchases a vehicle,” Anderson said. “We see this as a perfect marriage of technology, vehicles and financing to give customers a very unique way of buying a car.”
For more information on Car Harmony, click here.
Roadster offers new trade-in experience
In other direct-to-consumer car-buying news, Roadster today announced it has released an enhancement to its car-buying service: a smartphone-enabled trade-in service.
According to the company, the solution allows the seller to solicit bids on trade-ins from a network of professional buyers, providing the customer a firm cash offer within 48 hours. If accepted, Roadster arranges a home or office pickup, confirms the vehicle’s condition, drops off a check and handles the situation from there.
"By getting multiple bids, Roadster's new solution generates top-dollar offers, but equally important, it provides customers with the most efficient and stress-free way to dispose of their old car," said Andy Moss, Roadster’s chief executive officer. "Over 45 percent of new car buyers trade in their used cars during the purchase process, knowingly accepting a below-market price in exchange for convenience. With Roadster, our customers do not need to compromise between convenience and price. They get the best of both worlds."
This trade-in solution is currently available in California and can be used by customers regardless of whether or not they’re purchasing a vehicle from Roadster.
To learn more, click here.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Tuesday that Carfax plans to invest a total of $15.8 million to expand its headquarters and upgrade its nearby data center operation.
Expecting to create 120 new jobs, Carfax’s current plans include a $5 million investment to expand its Fairfax County headquarters in Centreville, Va., as well as a further $10.8 million investment to upgrade its data center in nearby Loudoun County.
“Carfax is a great example of a company that is diversifying the Fairfax County economic base as it grows,” said Gerald Gordon, the president and chief executive officer of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA). “This is a leading firm in the automotive sector that is taking full advantage of the excellent workforce we have, and I am delighted to see that the company is expanding its data center capabilities in the Commonwealth as well as expanding its headquarters here.”
Dick Raines, Carfax’s president, explained some of the thought process involved behind bolstering his company’s infrastructure.
“Fairfax County is a special place that has been home to Carfax for more than 20 years,” Raines said. “With ready access to the I-66 corridor, our corporate headquarters in Centreville has proven a desirable location for our staff, the majority of whom call the county home. We’ve maintained a diverse workforce, with myriad career opportunities in sales, marketing, account management, business development, technology, product management, IT, finance, and legal. Our staff consistently votes us a best place to work and a big part of that success is made possible by our residence in Fairfax County.”
According to the FCEDA, it worked with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to secure the headquarters expansion for Virginia. McAuliffe approved a $150,000 grant from the Commonwealth Opportunity Fund to assist Fairfax County with the project; funding and services to support the company’s employee training activities will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.
Spireon Inc., best known for its vehicle-tracking solutions, has debuted its new service provided exclusively through used-vehicle dealers, called Kahu, which allows customers a way to link their vehicle to their smartphone and track its whereabouts.
According to the company, the Kahu service includes an installed device on the car that connects the car’s location and trip data to a user’s smartphone application, providing real-time access to information such as vehicle location, theft recovery services, driving alerts and more.
“With over 2.5 million connected vehicles on the road today, Spireon offers the broadest open Connected Vehicle service available today,” said Shawn Hansen, Spireon’s chief marketing officer. “Kahu is the first aftermarket connected vehicle service available exclusively from car dealers. The thousands of car dealers that use GoldStar GPS for collateral and lot management can easily add Kahu to increase profits, as well as help any car buyer connect their car to the Internet.”
While providing several value-added services for the customer, the device is also potential a profit-point for dealers, who can use the device to track and manage their vehicle inventory prior to sale and sell Kahu as an add-on service for any vehicle.
To find out more about Kahu, click here.
Third-party auto shopping and research site CarGurus announced Tuesday the launch of its U.K. website, CarGurus UK.
This is CarGurus’ first site in the European market, and the company says it hopes to offer something new for car shoppers in the region.
Langley Steinert, the co-founder of TripAdvisor who founded CarGurus in 2007, looks forward to adding the U.K. to his company’s monthly exposure to 15.5 million in the U.S. as well as in Canada, which the company added in 2014.
“CarGurus has grown quickly and consistently based on a unique model that delivers for automotive shoppers and dealers alike,” Steinert said. “We have seen in the United States that when the car shopping process is transparent, everybody benefits. We believe that the U.K. automotive marketplace is seeking just this kind of transparency, and shoppers will appreciate the evolution that CarGurus brings to the region.”
The CarGurus UK site, at the time of launch, offered its U.K. shoppers exposure to over 200,000 car listings, along with free access to both its site and its mobile app. Dealers interested in listing on the site can do so at no cost with the option of buying additional advertising packages. The U.K. site currently includes stock from over 3,500 dealerships.
