Two technology companies have entered into a strategic partnership that they say will help OEMs and dealers take advantage of the best current digital products to increase sales and service opportunities.
Autodata Solutions and motormindz announced the news at the NADA convention and said the collaboration will help auto manufacturers increase innovation and flexibility in their certified dealer digital programs.
Supporting several OEM Tier III digital initiatives is a current Autodata project, and the company is partnering with other technology brands to focus on transparent KPIs and measurable ROI. Accessing, assessing and adopting the best of the many new digital products that enter the marketplace each year is a main priority for Autodata, and the company noted in a news release that “this is at the heart of the motormindz business model.”
Autodata and motormindz believe that for OEMs and dealers to survive and succeed in the future, they must adopt technology in areas such as artificial intelligence and digital retailing, and they must use data to connect and personalize the shopping experience.
“Motormindz is singularly focused on seeking out, assessing and enabling the next generation of digital solution providers for the automotive retail channel,” Jeff Van Dongen, chief executive officer at motormindz, said in a news release. “We're excited to partner with Autodata and provide more visibility to technology innovation in the auto retail space.”
Manheim’s physical sites span more than 6,500 acres. That makes it a challenge to find some units quickly. On average, each vehicle is moved five to six times as it passes through service areas such as reconditioning, inspections and sale-day staging. The company moved vehicles 40 million times in 2018 alone.
To ease that challenge, Manheim is releasing a new product that reports a vehicle’s whereabouts within 10 feet on a Manheim lot.
Lot Vision is a GPS-based wireless device placed in a vehicle’s on-board diagnostics port that Manheim says reduces the typical search time from hours to minutes. The company says the Lot Vision tracking technology makes locating nearly 8 million vehicles registered annually at its physical auctions much easier.
To use Lot Vision, dealers and transporters input a work order number and activate “Location Services” on a smart phone or tablet to see their exact vehicle location and a directional path to it. For vehicles without an on-board diagnostic port, trackers attach to the steering wheel. Manheim says Lot Vision also speeds up vehicle processing.
Dealer clients and transporters can access tracking data, via the Lot Vision website at mymanheim.com/lotvision. The data is currently available at no charge. The company says account representatives can use the tool’s automated lot scanning process to more easily monitor inventory.
Manheim projects that the technology can boost auction work flow by roughly 75 percent by providing team members with enhanced vehicle data and streamlining scanning activities. Later this year, Manheim plans to examine other Lot Vision capabilities, including offering real-time vehicle diagnostic information and assessing remaining battery life and fluid levels.
Extensive testing took place last year, and now Lot Vision is in place at Manheim Toronto, Manheim West Palm Beach and Manheim Fort Lauderdale. By the end of the first quarter, Lot Vision will be available at four additional sites, including Manheim Orlando, which is one of the company’s largest locations. Lot Vision will expand to other Manheim sites nationwide this year.
The company created Lot Vision partially in response todealer clients who stated they looked forward to having more confidence in their ability to locate vehicles, saving time and experiencing less hassles.
“Our team members and partners will now be able to identify — with pinpoint accuracy — each vehicle’s location and journey within various areas of the facility, such as reconditioning,” Grace Huang, president of Cox Automotive Inventory Solutions, said in a news release. Cox Automotive is the parent company of Manheim.
Cox2M, Cox Communications’ new connected asset services business line, collaborated with Manheim to develop the GPS tracking hardware that powers Lot Vision. Manheim is Cox2M’s first customer to use this new technology.
As Lot Vision’s technology extends beyond Manheim lots, dealer clients such as Sonic Automotive and U.S. Auto Sales are now piloting the product at a few dealerships.
NADA Show 2019 convention attendees can view a Lot Vision demo at Manheim booth #1709S.
“Lot Vision revolutionizes vehicle management at Manheim and strengthens our capability to take vehicle tracking to the next level,” Huang said in a news release.
Dealerships with access to the automotiveMastermind (Mastermind) product can now deliver prescreen offers to consumers through a partnership between automotiveMastermind and TransUnion that will help dealers identify highly qualified customers coming to the dealership for service.
The service is possible through serviceMastermind, which informs dealers when qualified customers are in the service drive. Customer data from TransUnion gives dealers insight about those customers, allowing those dealers to perform new sales outreach.
Through TransUnion’s involvement with the product, dealers can pull real-time credit-based information to understand the needs of consumers in the dealership showroom or those patronizing the service department. Through faster assessment of a customer’s creditworthiness, dealers can deliver the right offer, to the right customer, at the right time, according to the company.
“The combined power of our partnership with TransUnion, and IHS Markit data, gives dealers greater visibility on who is servicing at their dealership, including contract, loyalty and garage indicators, allowing them to market to service customers with the right message,” Johannes Gnauck, chief executive officer and co-founder of Mastermind, said in a news release. “We want to provide dealers with the most compelling, market-relevant data possible to strengthen the customer experience and, ultimately, customer relationships.”
Brian Landau, senior vice president and automotive business leader at TransUnion, said in a news release, “Through the partnership, dealers will have the right tools to grow their prescreen functionality and build demand, while equipping their customers with a more seamless car shopping experience.”
All eligible Mastermind dealer partners will be able to use serviceMastermind in the first quarter of 2019. Some Mastermind dealer partners have tested the product, and early tests show 65 to 80 percent of customers were activated into the sales workflow, and 27 to 52 percent of those converted customers purchased a vehicle through that dealer.
Services available to AutoNation customers with Automatic include crash alert, roadside assistance and real-time location monitoring and sharing. Now, customers who purchase a pre-owned vehicle from one of five AutoNation USA stores will be able to receive a free automatic plug-in adapter and introductory subscription, AutoNation and SiriusXM company Automatic Labs announced on Wednesday.
Automatic Labs, which describes itself as a company that “brings the power of connectivity to almost any car on the road,” notes that with its app and adapter, most 1996-model-year or later vehicles can become connected, allowing drivers to get access to safety and convenience features from Automatic and service alerts and recall notifications from AutoNation.
AutoNation notes that it is the largest dealer group to begin offering Automatic, a service bundle that its AutoNation USA stores will provide to consumers with their pre-owned vehicle purchases. The five participating AutoNation USA stores are in Houston, Phoenix, Corpus Christi, Texas; Katy, Texas; and Henderson, Nev.
With the Automatic Dealer Program, AutoNation USA stores can offer consenting customers purchasing a pre-owned vehicle a free trial subscription that includes three years of Automatic’s crash alert and connected maintenance services, as well as six free months of premium services, such as roadside assistance.
More detail on services available to AutoNation customers with Automatic:
— Crash Alert: Automatic detects when a serious collision occurs. Responders can then contact the driver, send emergency services, and contact a driver’s emergency contacts.
— Roadside assistance: A driver will receive towing and roadside services when help is needed.
— Real-time vehicle location monitoring and sharing: This feature shows the location of a parked car, and the driver will also be able to be connected with family while out on the road.
— Vehicle health and performance monitoring: The user will gain knowledge on vehicle performance and see the possible issues that are taking place when the check engine light goes on.
— Recall notifications and service reminders: This feature will also allow booking of service appointments with AutoNation with a few simple clicks.
— Integration with smart home devices: The user can perform tasks such as opening a garage door, adjusting a thermostat, and turning on house lights.
"Car buyers are becoming increasingly aware of the convenience and safety features that a connected vehicle offers, and the Automatic adapter allows us to deliver that connectivity to our customers in vehicles on AutoNation USA store lots,” Marc Cannon, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at AutoNation, said in a news release.
For dealers who would like to continually analyze consumer buying patterns and behavior to determine when the consumer is in-market to buy a car or service his or her vehicle, they can now use the services of their intelligence assistant, “Otto.”
Otto is part of Dominion Dealer Solutions’ new MarketActivator technology, which Dominion describes as a “data-mining, marketing machine” that uses data science to drive prime opportunities for sales and service. The company says that results in a more profitable relationship between the dealership and end consumer.
The product is meant to help dealers, who lose 88 percent of customers over four years of ownership, Dominion noted, using data from IBISWorld. Dominion added that most service transactions take place with third-party independents and not the franchised dealer.
“If dealers can be more proactive in determining when customers are ready to transact, we estimate that much of the sales and service business that they are losing will return,” Jill Whitehead, senior vice president of operations for Dominion Dealer Solutions, said in a news release.
“Otto,” the intelligence assistant in MarketActivator, triggers a marketing power sequence for each consumer based on his or her unique profile and shopping behavior. Otto sends personalized sales and service offers across multiple channels — such as Facebook, email, direct mail and outbound call — and those offers direct customers to their personalized URL.
The system sends internal alerts when qualified customers arrive in the service drive. Dominon adds that Otto is always mining for what Dominion calls “lost souls.” The system automatically communicates tailored offers to bring customers into the store.
When a customer posts a negative review or his or her online behavior indicates that he or she is interested in upgrading to a new or used vehicle, Otto ensures that sales and service teams are appropriately alerted.
The reverse inventory sales match feature within MarketActivator identifies a vehicle of interest and directly markets those vehicles to existing and conquest customers.
Dominion reported the case of Brian Singh, general manager of Parkway Family Kia and Mazda, who said his business experienced an increase in sales soon after implementing its processes and more targeted messaging through MarketActivator. He added that the business sold its first car from the service lane within seven days of using the technology.
Whitehead said almost half of the customers in a dealer’s database have moved or no longer own their vehicle. MarketActivator, she added, ensures that every message is targeted and will reach the consumer that owns that vehicle.
“We take the output of each customer’s engagement with the complete customer lifecycle communication and use it in our AI system to better prescribe the next message and channel to the customer,” she said.
The technology has been piloted and installed with multiple early adopters and will officially launch in conjunction with NADA Show 2019 in San Francisco.
Dealers continue to look for more efficient ways to do business, and Manheim at NADA Show 2019 will continue to address that need with the unveiling of a new addition to the Manheim Express app. The app features 360-degree imaging technology—along with moveable images that enable dealers to assess condition and other features—that helps dealers buy and sell vehicles whenever it makes sense for them.
Manheim is calling the new addition an “in-app buyer experience” and says the product will help dealers quickly and confidently purchase fresh, local inventory. The company says the new features improve the process of searching for, saving and buying vehicles. The in-app buyer experience will be available in the Manheim Express app in late January.
The product builds on the Manheim Express mobile app launched last year to improve dealers’ experience in listing and selling inventory. The company says the “experience” appeals to dealers who have demanded more ability to acquire inventory through digital channels. Last year, more than 2 million vehicles were sold through Manheim to digital buyers.
The new in-app buyer experience is specifically designed for dealers focused on purchasing inventory. Dealers can review inspection information and bid on and purchase vehicles right from the app, with vehicle damage and condition issues surfaced at the top of the listing for improved viewing and consideration. Manheim says dealers can also more easily sort and filter search results, as well as tag favorites. Key benefits and features include:
— Access to a selection of local competitively-priced inventory, enabling buyers to purchase vehicles from dealers in their area that they may already know and do business with.
— Vehicle listings that use Manheim Express’ 360-degree imaging and detailed condition information, which the company says gives dealers the tools they need to accurately assess a vehicle’s condition.
— Inventory at all price-ranges and types, which the company says helps buyers to find the right vehicles for their customers.
The buyer experience is part of a more-than-$100 million investment Manheim is making in its digital marketplace through 2019, including tools and integrated services that it says helps dealers reduce waste, turn inventory faster and drive profitability. Digital buyers account for almost half of all vehicles sold through Manheim auctions, and the company says Manheim Express inventory gets more than 139,000 unique buyers every month.
“Our dealer and commercial clients are clearly embracing the digital marketplace to drive new efficiencies in their respective businesses,” Derek Hansen, vice president, Offsite Solutions at Manheim, said in a news release. “Manheim will continue to look for ways to expand and add new digital capabilities to fuel this demand and meet the needs of our clients.”
Ajay Bam says we all know Americans love their trucks. He said in a news release that he also believes authentic video reviews from everyday drivers “have a massive impact on the buying decision process.”
“Therefore, we wanted to see if there was a (correlation) between the percentage of videos posted and the percentage of vehicles sold,” said Bam, who is co-founder and chief executive officer of Vyrill, a user-generated video content (UGVC), video discovery, analytic, licensing and content marketing platform powered by proprietary AI technology to enable social commerce and product marketing.
Vyrill has released what it says is first-of-its-kind auto research focused on UGVC. The company evaluated organic and paid non-branded light-truck videos that consumers created during the first half of 2018.
The findings identified the percentage of authentic (non-paid) influencer videos produced for each of the major light-truck brands in the United States.
The findings showed that the Ford F-150 is not only the leader when it comes to sales, but also in Americans posting videos about their favorite truck.
In fact, 41 percent of all light-truck UGVC posted in the first half of 2018 was for the Ford F-150. This is approximately nine points higher than Ford’s sales volume percentage.
Vyrill evaluated and reported against all paid and UGC video content across eight distinctive data groups: topic, scene, sentiment, demographics, diversity, video platform statistics, brand safety and influencer data.
“As we are tracking information for the auto category we see a similar correlation between UGVC and sales volume against all vehicle types," Bam said.
Vyrill’s artificial intelligence tool can analyze moving images, audio and text data from consumer generated videos to discern insights. With this advanced technology, Vyrill can help brands filter through the clutter of social videos and deliver what it says are easy-to-understand metrics and insights including:
—Top video content
—Video creators including demographic data
—Video performance across platforms
—Category and competitor benchmarking
—Trends
—Language
—Scenes and settings
—Topics
—Sentiment
—Tone
—Geography data by product, category, brands and competition
With this data, Vyrill scored the video for brand safety and diversity, which the company says can allow brands to save time and money and make better, more informed marketing decisions.
Vyrill said, "it opens the door to new opportunities for brands including the ability to post brand safe user-generated video content, such as reviews or testimonials, and automatically upload them to product pages on highly trafficked sites like Amazon to drive product conversion."
A new company is promising to “turn the traditional ridesharing business model on its head,” concentrating on factors such as safety and hospitality, along with passengers’ “in-car experience.”
The company, Alto, enters the on-demand rideshare market with $14.5 million from two rounds of funding and has several investment partners, but the new company wants those who use traditional ridesharing services to notice how it is different from traditional ridesharing companies.
Alto employs its drivers and manages a dedicated fleet. The service is a members-only experience. Members control the in-car experience, from the music to climate.
In the areas of safety and hospitality, Alto’s employee drivers are rigorously vetted, trained and performance-managed. The company’s fleet features new, 5-star-crash-rated SUVs, which it cleans and maintains daily. With the touch of Alto’s app, the Alto car lights up for easy identification as a member approaches. To protect drivers, the app notifies the drivers when their passenger is in range, so the drivers can unlock their doors only for their customers.
“I’m really excited about the potential to disrupt the disruptors in mobility,” says Alto chief executive officer Will Coleman. Alto plans to expand to more cities in 2019 and reach the national level by 2020.
Alto’s investment partners include Road Ventures and Frog Ventures, which designed Alto’s in-car experience and app. The company will initiate another fundraising round this spring for growth and expansion.
Reviver Auto recently received good news for drivers in the Motor City and elsewhere in the Great Lake State who are interested in using digital license plates.
The company noted on Thursday that the Michigan legislature has passed a bill (Public Act 656 of 2018) enabling digital license plate technology in the state. Reviver Auto highlighted this new technology that has the potential to generate efficiencies and benefits for consumers, businesses and the state, can offer a digital alternative to today’s 125-year-old stamped metal license.
The creator of the Rplate added that it will work in conjunction with newly elected Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to roll the plates out to interested users.
“We are proud to have worked closely with the department of state and Secretary Benson, as well as the Michigan legislature and other public officials, to pass this pioneering bill in the state that invented the automotive industry,” said Reviver Auto co-founder and chief executive officer Neville Boston.
“We look forward to continuing our great working relationship with the state of Michigan, to not only contribute to a more connected community and bring significant benefits to its citizens and businesses, but to also help fuel the innovation fire right here in the core of the global automotive industry,” Boston continued.
The Rplate, which launched on the roads in California last June, is designed to transform today’s stamped metal license plate into a sleek, digital, high-definition display and that can offer a platform to simplify daily life with vast potential for future innovation.
The Rplate’s connected car platform can automate vehicle renewals, replacing legacy stickers with digital decals, and can add new levels of personalization to the license plate, including promoting charitable causes, passion for a sports team, or even a child’s academic/athletic achievements. The Rplate also can enable stolen vehicle and plate detached information, as well as geo-fencing capabilities for business and/or governmental entities.
Reviver Auto mentioned future features include Amber and weather alerts, automated parking, trips taken, vehicle miles traveled, marketing capabilities and much more.
The company pointed out Michigan is the first state in the nation to enact a law to allow implementation of digital license plates, helping to open up a digital gateway to a world of innovation opportunities — from Smart Cities initiatives to autonomous vehicle technology — while also offering new efficiencies for consumers such as simplifying and expediting the process for renewing automobile registration.
The legislation coincides with the upgrading of internal systems at Michigan’s Department of State which will provide effortless integration with the Rplate technology. Reviver Auto and the Secretary of State’s office are eager to partner with Michigan companies and organizations to bring the digital license plates to all interested individuals.
Reviver Auto is also partnering with Michigan-based The Pink Fund to create a Pink Fund-branded digital license plate, as well as digital Pink Fund logos for the Rplate, all of which will help raise funds to support the organization’s mission of providing financial support to help meet basic needs, decrease stress levels and allow breast cancer patients in active treatment to focus on healing while improving survivorship outcomes.
In addition to Michigan, the Rplate, which is currently on the road in California, is anticipated to expand into new states in 2019.
The company noted the use of digital license plates is fully authorized for Arizona, and legislation has been passed in Texas and Florida. Reviver Auto said that Washington State will conduct a digital license plate study.
In addition, Reviver Auto has started its international growth with an initial program in Dubai, UAE for a proof of concept in partnership with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority.
The Rplate is available in California through participating dealerships, shops such as Al & Ed’s Autosound, and for pre-order at the Reviver Auto website.
It’s a potential clash that can lead to frustration for both potential buyers and dealerships — haggling over what a trade might be worth.
According to a recent survey conducted by Black Book, consumers believe a vehicle trade-in quote that’s far from expectations remains the second-most likely reason to kill a deal. Editors acknowledged the trade-in process remains largely inefficient, which is why Black Book and The Appraisal Lane have teamed up to give consumers what the company say is an enhanced trade-in experience while improving dealer efficiencies.
The Appraisal Lane launched a mobile app — accessible from dealer websites and the app store — providing consumers with cash offers for their trades, in minutes, from a live team of experts. With this new platform, consumers can start their research with Black Book’s precision-based values to get the most market-reflective price range for their used vehicle.
When ready to transact, individuals can connect in real-time with The Appraisal Lane by answering simple condition questions, uploading photos of their vehicle and getting a guaranteed offer. The offer is redeemable at a participating dealer as money toward the purchase of a replacement vehicle, or as cash in hand.
The Appraisal Lane team utilizes Black Book valuation data in conjunction with market insights and deep appraisal knowledge across all makes and models to assess each used vehicle on its own merit and provides consumers with the best possible cash offer.
Real time communication between consumers and a live team of appraisers can give consumers the confidence and transparency that they have been missing in current online vehicle valuation processes.
“Black Book and The Appraisal Lane share the same fundamentals of combining data science with human touch to most accurately determine a vehicle’s value,” said Jared Kalfus, executive vice president of revenue for Black Book.
“Our values, coupled with The Appraisal Lane’s live cash offers, effectively put the dealership trade-in process right in the palm of a consumer’s hand,” Kalfus continued. “Dealers that offer this experience are poised to improve customer engagement, increase business, and stand apart from the competition.”
Jeff Risner, a 30-year auto industry veteran, and co-founder and chief executive officer of The Appraisal Lane, says the launch his company’s consumer app was designed to improve a process that has been largely underserved by technology.
“There are two universal truths in our industry,” Risner said. “Every used car is as unique as the person driving it, and a used car is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, at any given time. These truths involve human interaction — a live appraisal and a cash offer from experts who incorporate quality vehicle values in their toolset.
“When you use technology to connect with consumers in real-time and make them a fundamental part of the process, you provide an exceptional trade-in experience and create a much deeper level of engagement before they visit the dealership,” Risner continued.
Dealers currently use The Appraisal Lane’s industry products to manage, move, and source inventory and are now utilizing the company’s consumer app to streamline the trade-in process, improve customer satisfaction and make more retail deals.
Launched a little more than three years ago, The Appraisal Lane community consists of more than 1,000 members and is growing.
