The powersports sector in Canada is getting some reinforcements.
NetSol Technologies, a global business services and enterprise application solutions provider, recently signed a contract with Yamaha Motor Finance Canada for a further implementation of its LeasePak solution.
Peter Minshall, executive vice president of NetSol Technologies Americas, explained what the move means.
“Yamaha Motor Finance is a long-standing client of the company in the United States. Through its Canadian affiliate, Yamaha is looking to expand its regional commercial finance footprint,” Minshall said in a news release.
“Due to the client’s pre-existing relationship with NetSol and first-hand experience with our LeasePak product, it was natural for them to use the same product for their leasing and lending operations in Canada,” he continued.
Najeeb Ghauri is founder, chairman and chief executive officer of NetSol Technologies.
“It gives us great pleasure when existing clients continue to place their trust in us when expanding their operations in different countries or regions,” Ghauri said. “Yamaha is a blue-chip company and is world-renowned.
“By signing an agreement with NetSol to deploy our LeasePak platform in Canada, the client will be enabled with a superior, end-to-end portfolio management solution to ensure their operations are executed seamlessly and cost-effectively,” Ghauri went on to say.
Untether AI, which describes itself as “the leader in at-memory computation for artificial intelligence inference acceleration,” has teamed up with General Motors to develop AI perception systems for autonomous vehicles.
Emphasizing that perception systems are integral to autonomous vehicles, Untether AI said it will collaborate with GM on demonstrating an AV perception system based on the company’s at-memory computation technology.
The project is receiving $1 million in funding from the provincial government’s Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN).
“Since taking office our government has created the right economic conditions to position Ontario as a hub for developing and building the vehicles of the future,” said Vic Fedeli, who is Ontario’s minister of economic development, job creation and trade, in a news release.
“With OVIN support, this collaboration is another example of how Ontario is fast-becoming the go-to jurisdiction for developing next-generation electric, connected and mobility technologies including artificial intelligence perception systems for autonomous vehicles,” Fedeli said.
Minister of transportation Caroline Mulroney said: “Our government understands that autonomous vehicle technology has the potential to make driving safer and more efficient.
“Along with the historic investments our government is making in building the vehicles of the future, we are proud to support the development of next-generation transportation technology that will transform the way we travel while furthering our position as a leader in the automotive technology space.”
Explaining more about the technology the companies are developing, Untether explained that AV perception systems use AI via neural networks to perceive a vehicle’s surrounding environment. The systems utilize a bevy of external inputs, like multiple video cameras, radar, ultrasound and lidar data.
Untether will use its at-memory compute technology to accelerate these neural networks. Meanwhile, GM will provide guidance and details on AV perception system requirements. The automaker is also offering access to the neural network technology used in Untether’s AV perception system.
“The project’s goal is to help increase autonomous vehicle performance by providing faster and more accurate vision response, reducing the power draw of various AV systems to increase battery life, and even helping to enable the downsizing of vehicle batteries,” Untether said in the release. “Additionally, this solution will aim to save on overall autonomous vehicle control system cost.”
Arun Iyengar, who is the chief executive officer of Untether AI, said: “This demonstration project with General Motors illuminates the future of AI-powered perception systems that will make autonomous vehicles a reality. We’re pleased and excited about the support we’ve gotten from OVIN and the government of Ontario, who are leading the way to nurture innovative technology efforts in Canada.”
GM Ventures, the automaker’s global venture capital arm, has been a strategic investor in Untether since 2018. Ted Graham is the principal of GM Ventures in Canada.
“GM is always looking for opportunities to collaborate with exciting new start-ups and support advanced technology development right here in Canada,” Graham said in a news release. “The technology developed by Untether AI has great potential to improve computing performance with low power consumption and at a lower cost, which are both priorities for the GM enterprise vision for an all-electric, connected, and autonomous future.”
Inovatec Systems Corp., and Inverite Verification announced a strategic partnership this week.
The provider of cloud-based software solutions for all financial institutions and the open-banking provider with coverage for more than 275 Canadian financial institutions said their relationship is meant to increase operational efficiencies for lenders.
Officials explained Inovatec will integrate with Inverite to increase the speed of lending decisions through income verification, transaction history and risk scores to help lenders make better informed decisions.
Inovatec’s cloud-based software solutions for the automotive industry can streamline the process of submitting applications to lenders, while Inverite can provide sophisticated algorithms to generate custom risk models that use customer profile information and past repayment history to make lending decisions.
“Strategic partners have become an increasingly important part of our offering. The Inovatec systems will now be able to automate the Inverite solutions for our valued lender partners, adding efficiencies to the Customer Onboarding process,” said Bryan Smith, head of customer growth and partnerships at Inovatec. “The Inverite solutions will be integrated in our Compass Asset Finance (CAF) LOS for credit & funding.”
Inverite’s software uses data from more than 500,000 banking reports which is used to train machine learning algorithms to make statistical predictions based on patterns detected in millions of individual customer transactions and profile data. Through machine learning (ML) Inovatec customers have access to unmatched configuration and business process automation, resulting in quicker lender decisions based off on more accurate consumer credit and buying behaviors.
“Inverite is excited to partner with Inovatec Systems” said Lloyd Evetts, director of business development at Inverite. “Our instant bank verification, income verification and risk scoring services will provide new customer insights that will help Inovatec’s lenders in making accurate and effective credit decisions.”
Fleet management company LeasePlan Canada and vehicle inspection company Alliance Inspection Management say they are committed to providing Canada with vehicle condition reports for commercial fleets to increase the transparency and trust in transactions.
A new partnership between those two companies reflects a continuation of that commitment.
LeasePlan Canada has selected AiM for off-lease inspections as part of the companies’ move to expand their presence within the Canadian market.
The deal calls for AiM to integrate its 50 mobile and fixed-site operators across LeasePlan Canada’s locations in the country. LeasePlan Canada says the new partnership will accelerate its ability to collect vehicle information across its Canadian fleet “so that fleet owners can make better-informed decisions and have more confidence in their transactions.”
“As the largest provider of off-lease inspections in the United States, we’re thrilled to expand this part of our business to Canada,” AiM’s senior vice president of sales and marketing Eric Widmer said in a news release. “Our alliance with LeasePlan Canada will eliminate time and friction from their vehicle remarketing efforts, and provide both buyers and sellers with a clear picture of vehicle conditions across their fleet.”
“AiM has developed into the trusted third-party vehicle inspection company for the auto remarketing industry,” said LeasePlan Canada remarketing manager Claudio de Angelis. “Everyone from auto manufacturers to dealers, consignors to auctions understand[s] that an accurate vehicle condition report impacts its value, and through our partnership, we’ll be able to collect data and report a vehicle’s condition to our customers.”
LeasePlan Canada contributes to the company’s worldwide operations of more than 1.8 million vehicles across 32 countries. AiM has performed more than 90 million vehicle inspections for auto manufacturers, rental fleets, dealers, auction companies, finance companies and consumers for the past nine years. AiM also provides floor plan audits, dealer inspections, and new car and auction inspections in Canada.
A new strategic partnership and technology-sharing agreement means Canadian automotive retailers advertising their inventory on TRADER Corp.’s automotive marketplace will have access to a new car image library featuring professionally produced photos for most major OEM new vehicles.
The agreement between TRADER Corp. and Car Media 2.0 will provide TRADER customers access to the Car Media 2.0 New Car Image Library and video features. TRADER Corp. is a digital marketing partner for Canadian automotive retailers and manufacturers.
Auto retailers advertising on the autoTRADER.ca marketplace will have access to new vehicle images, captured uniquely, seasonally adjusted and with backgrounds replaced.
The vehicles are categorized by year, make, model, trim and color.
TRADER will also replace its legacy video offering with complete video offerings for automotive OEMs and retailers across Canada. Car Vids 2.0, an advanced video platform developed by Car Media 2.0, will power the new product. It will feature customized and automated video content.
“It’s no secret that well-merchandised inventory, with quality photos, drive more vehicle listing views and more consumer interest on both the autoTRADER.ca marketplace and our dealer partners’ websites,” TRADER chief product officer Jill Hadfield said in a news release. “In fact, one of our early adopters using the New Car Image Library saw a 94-percent increase in visits to their vehicle listings on autoTRADER.ca.”
“This new relationship affords access to automated, streamlined tools for TRADER customers to improve their new car merchandising efforts and enhance the new car shopping experience for Canadian consumers.” Car Media 2.0 head of accounts and strategic partnerships Randy Price said in a news release.
Carfax Canada has released a new pricing tool available on the Kijiji Autos site and an app that the companies say will help Canadians better understand used-vehicle values and empower them to make better decisions about used cars. The tool, according to Carfax Canada, will also help used-car sellers set competitive asking prices.
The company says its price analysis uses a proprietary algorithm that calculates the average price for a vehicle by considering its available history. That history could include factors such as odometer readings, damage and actual selling prices for similar vehicles in nearby locations. Carfax Canada says sellers and shoppers can use those findings as a benchmark to understand what similar cars are worth.
Carfax Canada says it is the exclusive source of vehicle history information on Kijiji Autos’ platform, and the company's president and general manager Mark Rousseau said in a news release that the company is "proud to now also power the platform’s price analysis tool with Carfax’s valuation data."
Leanne Kripp, director of autos at Kijiji, said in a news release that Canadians mentioned transparency when telling her company which factors would be an important factor for them in using the new platform.
“By integrating CARFAX Canada data into our price analysis tool, we're able to provide millions of Canadians with a greater level of transparency that will empower them to feel more confident in their car buying journey," Kripp said.
OpenRoad Auto Group has a long history with Toyota.
The group began its partnership with the automaker in 1978, when the company opened its first Toyota showroom on Granville Avenue in Richmond. The dealership in 1985 moved to its current Richmond Auto Mall location and renamed it OpenRoad Toyota Richmond. The dealership group went on to acquire two more Toyota dealerships. On Jan. 22, OpenRoad announced the acquisition of its fourth British Columbia Toyota dealership and 28th automotive retail location, Peace Arch Toyota in South Surrey.
In other Canadian dealership news, Mercedes-Benz Canada named its 2019 Star Dealers, which are the group’s top 11 dealerships among the company’s national network of 59 retail locations.
Regarding the OpenRoad news, the auto group is singing the praises of Peace Arch Toyota, noting that under the Vines family leadership, the dealership earned Toyota’s highest honor for excellence in customer service, sales volumes and market penetration. OpenRoad also noted that Peace Arch has earned the President’s Program Award five times.
But the praise doesn’t stop there. OpenRoad emphasizes Peace Arch Toyota’s charitable reputation in the community for its many donations to the Special Olympics, the Canada Cup Softball Tournament and the Peace Arch Hospital Foundation. As the new owners of Peace Arch Toyota, OpenRoad says it plans to continue those traditions.
The company is currently building what will be the new home of OpenRoad Toyota Richmond, and OpenRoad say it will become Canada’s largest Toyota dealership. The company is calling it an “impressive 205,000 square foot, mega facility” that it says will incorporate the most advanced technological features and environmental systems. while housing the country’s largest Toyota showroom and service centre. The new OpenRoad Toyota Richmond dealership is expected to open in late 2019.
Openroad will soon rebrand Peace Arch Toyota as OpenRoad Toyota Peace Arch, which will also feature OpenRoad’s Club OpenRoad loyalty program.
“We are honored to continue the legacy and family success story of Peach Arch Toyota as a leading B.C. Toyota dealer in White Rock and South Surrey,” Christian Chia, chief executive officer of OpenRoad Auto Group, said in a news release. “We look forward to maintaining the dealership’s excellent reputation for offering superior customer service, being a committed community partner and a great place to work.”
For Mercedes-Benz Canada, the dealership notes that its 2019 Star Dealers, over the course of the 2018 calendar year, must have shown outstanding performance in new and pre-owned sales and service and parts, in addition to exceptional customer service satisfaction. The Star Dealer designation was first introduced in 1999.
The 2019 Star Dealers are as follows (listed from east to west):
— Norman Hébert, Mercedes-Benz de Québec
— Benoît Theetge, Mercedes-Benz St-Nicolas
— Peter Santos, Mercedes-Benz Peterborough
— Neal Bodack and Giuseppe Zanchin, Mercedes-Benz Durham
— Glen Alizadeh, Performance Mercedes-Benz
— Van Malkhassian, Mercedes-Benz Markham
— Graham MacNab Mercedes-Benz Midtown
— Sylvester Chuang Mercedes-Benz Oakville
— Jonathan Eltes Mercedes-Benz Brampton
— Rick Sentes Kelowna Mercedes-Benz
— Ajay Dilawri, Mercedes-Benz Langley
“In 2018, Mercedes-Benz dealers from coast to coast worked incredibly hard to provide exceptional products and services to our customers," said Brian Fulton, president and chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz Canada, said in a news release. “Thanks to their efforts, the company was able to maintain its position as the number one luxury manufacturer in Canada for the fifth consecutive year.”
A new dedicated business development center will offer a tailored product for the AutoCanada group using DealerMine CRM’s Service CRM application to increase service department traffic at AutoCanada's Canadian dealerships.
The center is the result of a strategic partnership between AutoCanada Inc. and DealerMine CRM to establish a dedicated business development center for AutoCanada's Canadian dealerships. The two companies announced the formation of the partnership on Thursday. AutoCanada currently operates 68 franchised dealerships with 28 brands in Canada and in Illinois in the United States.
DealerMine CRM, a subsidiary of Quorum Information Services Inc., will operate the AutoCanada business development center in dedicated facilities from its headquarters in Saint John, New Brunswick. A staff of 85 people will work for the center. DealerMine works to help dealerships increase revenues and profitability through data mining, multi-channel marketing OEM integrations and BDC operations.
“The establishment of the business development center is a key step of our Go-Forward Plan and will increase occupancy levels in our service departments," Michael Rawluk, president of AutoCanada, said in a news release.
“Our partnership will allow DealerMine CRM to offer a robust and tailored solution for AutoCanada, while continuing to focus on driving more sales to their service departments,” Robert Quirion, chief executive officer of DealerMine CRM, said in a news release.
Kijiji Autos, a digital destination that includes a website and app for helping Canadians find new or used, private or dealer, cars and trucks, formed an exclusive partnership with The Car Girls, a female-led organization that will provide additional communications and account-specific support to Kijiji Autos’ business.
The Car Girls provides sales-driven services for automotive dealerships through their business development center capabilities. The partnership with Kijiji Autos will focus on providing customer contact support, as well as additional regional sales support in smaller markets where Kijiji Autos does not currently have dedicated team members.
This partnership will also use The Car Girls’ various services — including marketing consulting, customer service and staff training, as well as their experience and understanding about dealerships — to onboard new dealers and support their needs throughout the Kijiji Autos offering process.
“We’re excited to have The Car Girls’ knowledge and expertise — as well having their female voice as part of our frontline communications — as a new component of our growing autos team,” Leanne Kripp, head of autos at Kijiji, said in a news release. She added that the partnership will “continue to build more avenues for trust and transparency throughout our Kijiji Autos brand, and to strengthen new and ongoing connections with our clients.”
Janis Showers, owner of The Car Girls, said in a news release that the opportunity will help to “…bring dealer clients a ‘white glove service’ through our efforts and that The Car Girls will “collaborate with Kijiji Autos on how to master the autos sector through the digital landscape.”
The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based FFUN Group has equipped 10 of its franchise dealerships with Dealertrack digital retailing tools.
Dealertrack Canada announced Wednesday that FFUN Group customers can now take advantage of Dealertrack digital retailing online shopping tools both online and in-store.
“Other competing solutions open in a new window and take the consumer off our dealer’s website and into their own experience, where our dealer ultimately loses visibility of that customer,” FFUN Group vice president operations Rob Weber said in a news release. “With Dealertrack Digital Retailing, our clients receive a seamless, efficient and convenient purchasing experience.”
Dealertrack digital retailing tools can help dealers understand their ROI by following a customer from an online advertisement or organic search all the way to the final sale in the Dealertrack portal, using cross-domain tracking with Google Analytics, according to Dealertrack.
“Additionally, Dealertrack Digital Retailing keeps consumers on the vehicle display page on the dealer’s website, increasing the users’ time on both site and engagement,” Dealertrack said.
Furthermore, the FFUN Group’s recent move to employ Dealertrack digital retailing tools stems from the group’s customer-centric approach to business, according to Dealertrack.
“Dealertrack’s breadth of services and access to data, supported by Cox Automotive Canada, makes us uniquely positioned to provide dealers like the FFUN Group with both services and insights,” said Richard Evans, vice president and general manager at Dealertrack Canada.
“FFUN Group customers also benefit from Dealertrack Digital Retailing connecting directly to the Dealertrack Portal, which is the lending portal in most OEM digital retailing experiences in Canada today,” Evans said.
The 10 FFUN Group dealerships now using Dealertrack digital retailing tools includes the following list of locations :
- West Edmonton Hyundai
- Acura of Saskatoon
- Country Ford
- Saskatoon North Hyundai
- Saskatoon South Hyundai
- KIA of Saskatoon
- KIA of Prince Albert
- Volkswagen Centre of Saskatoon
- South 20 Dodge Chrysler
- Nipawin Chrysler Dodge
The FFUN Group currently represents brands Acura, Dodge, Chrysler, Hyundai, Ford and Kia.
