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August 2018

Self-driving car startup AutoX launches grocery delivery

Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, 12:35 PM
By Auto Remarketing Staff
SAN JOSE, Calif. - 

Self-driving car startup AutoX has launched a new grocery delivery and mobile store service in San Jose, Calif., that consumers can use to order fresh produce and other goods.

The company announced Wednesday that its new service is available to customers in geo-fenced areas throughout San Jose.

AutoX said that its pilot launch consists of two phases. While the first phase of its launch is in San Jose, the company said that phase two of the pilot will include Mountain View and Palo Alto.

“We’re very excited to launch the first autonomous grocery delivery and mobile store service in the heart of Silicon Valley with self-driving vehicles on the road,” AutoX founder and chief executive officer Jianxiong Xiao said in a news release. “It’s the first step of our mission to democratize autonomy, and is a testament to our cutting edge A.I. (artificial intelligence) and all its potential capabilities. We believe self-driving car technologies will fundamentally change people’s daily lives for the better.”

With the AutoX mobile application, users can browse and order items such as fresh perishables, vegetables and fruits that are preserved in a temperature-controlled environment during their driverless commute to customers.

“We are enabling two shopping experiences with self-driving cars,” said AutoX chief operating officer Jewel Li. “You can order goods from an app and get them delivered by a self-driving vehicle. Or, our self-driving car brings a shelf of goods to you, and you can select and purchase onsite in front of your house.”

AutoX has partnered with e-commerce company GrubMarket.com to provide the fresh produce it delivers.

In addition to delivering fresh food to retailers such as Whole Foods, Blue Apron, Hello Fresh and Chipotle, GrubMarket also provides organic food directly from producers to AutoX for its self-driving car delivery service.

“AutoX is a true innovator in the autonomous driving industry, as evidenced by their pioneering self-driving delivery vehicle,” GrubMarket CEO Mike Xu said. “We are thrilled to combine the fresh and affordable grocery experience of GrubMarket with the ingenuity and delivery capabilities of AutoX. We look forward to providing our customers with even more convenient delivery options.”

Furthermore, AutoX said that its vehicles are fitted with high-resolution cameras with sensing capabilities that enable them to safely detect objects and see farther ahead for longer-distance trips.

“Highest safety and lowest cost, this is where our key technology lies,” said Jianxiong. With a diverse team of research minds from the likes of MIT, Stanford, CMU, Berkeley, along with engineering talent from Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Ford, AutoX is determined to make a mark on the autonomous driving industry.”

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Auto/Mate merges DMS with tracking, CRM tools provider to help dealers better market to leads

Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, 10:28 AM
By Auto Remarketing Staff
ALBANY, N.Y.  - 

Dealers using both Auto/Mate Dealership Systems and ProMax solutions can now access strengthened sales, lead, marketing and productivity management tools.

Auto/Mate announced Monday that it has integrated its dealership management system (DMS) with ProMax to help dealers optimize their sales process and lead generation by way of real-time data exchanges between the two systems.

“ProMax is a proven, award-winning company that designs software to give dealerships a competitive edge in a demanding market,” said Auto/Mate Dealership Systems president and chief executive officer Mike Esposito in a news release. “Additionally, ProMax provides a variety of services to help dealers generate, follow up and market to leads, as well as tools and training to close customers for a complete front-end solution.”

According to Auto/Mate, ProMax currently provides retail automotive CRM/ILM, desking, credit and compliance solutions to more than 2,000 dealerships.

Along with being able to find the best-performing lead sources, with ProMax software, dealers can also create targeted marketing campaigns, Auto/Mate said.

“Auto/Mate customers that are used to a high level of customer service and support can expect the same stellar experience and ease of use with all of our ProMax solutions,” said Darian Miller, chief technology officer of ProMax. “Additionally, we appreciate Auto/Mate's low-cost integration process so that we don't have to pass high integration and certification costs to our dealer customers.”

 

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3-year-old used cars: An enigmatic pool of vehicles

Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, 10:21 AM
By Joe Overby
Senior Editor
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - 

It’s an interesting enigma, the 3-year-old car.

Supply for these vehicles is at record levels, says a report from Edmunds. But that doesn’t appear to have slowed sales.

According to the company’s latest Used Car Report, roughly a fourth of used-car sales at franchised dealerships during the second quarter were 3-year-old rides.

But the average turn rate on these cars during Q2 was 38 days, which Edmunds said was the faster quarterly turn rate in at least 13 years.

Demand and supply, as it turns out, are both strong.

As one might expect, the leasing/off-lease market can often impact this slice of the used-car population. That was particularly evident when it came to the wide spectrum of differences when comparing new-car ATP to prices of the same 3-year-old used cars — both in terms of segment and model comparisons.

In fact, Edmunds found that the price gaps on the segment side were as low as 27 percent for midsize trucks, but as high as 48 percent for luxury midsize cars.

That in and of itself is another paradox, of sorts. 

“With consumer preferences leaning more toward SUVs and trucks, you'd assume that the savings would be more clear-cut, and you could apply a general savings figure based upon overarching SUV, truck and car vehicle categories,” Edmunds said in its report.

“That isn’t the case. The dynamics of 3-year-old used vehicle values are primarily dictated by the supplies afforded to the market from leasing, and within each category, volumes differ,” the report adds. “Specific models that might have been leased in higher volumes compared to their competitors are also a factor.”

Speaking of which, Edmunds looked at the same price gap for the 20 best-selling used cars on the market.

It found a similar gap, with the price difference of 48 percent for a BMW 3 Series at the top of the list and the 29-percent price difference for the Toyota RAV4 at the bottom.

Interestingly enough, the residuals of the RAV4 contributed greatly to the low price gap, despite the vehicle being a “heavily leased” model when new.  But lower residuals led to the opposite happening with the 3 Series, another heavily leased vehicle.

“A vehicle such as the Toyota RAV4 was a best-seller when new, and even though it was heavily leased three years ago, the strong residual values of this vehicle combined with the healthy overall demand in the compact SUV segment don’t allow for significant savings,” Edmunds said.

“On the other end we see that BMW’s 3 Series, a legend in the compact luxury car segment, faces weakened residual values because of high lease volumes in a segment that is no longer seen as the entry point into the luxury market,” analysts added. “But those who regard the 3 Series as the luxury compact sedan to own can realize a wealth of savings.

“Going forward we could expect these new-versus-used dynamics to continue in a predictable manner. However, if tariffs are enacted against specific models, these savings figures are bound to change and are certain to test customer loyalty.”
 

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Dealer Solutions North America completes first US transaction between 2 Ill. groups

Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, 10:03 AM
By Auto Remarketing Staff
DETROIT - 

A deal between two family-owned Illinois-based groups is Dealer Solutions North America’s first dealership transaction since launching in the U.S. market.

Dealer Solutions North America announced Monday that Monken Auto has acquired an additional location from first-time seller Tyler Jefferson Motors. Monken Auto now represents three new brands. Having already represented brands Nissan, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Chevrolet, Monken Auto worked with Dealer Solutions to purchase a Toyota, Buick and GMC dealership from Tyler Jefferson Motors.

“Working with a first-time seller, Dealer Solutions was able to help make the transaction go as smoothly as possible for all parties,” Monken Auto president Wes Monken said in a news release. “Our dedicated consultant, Paul Hagan, went above and beyond in this unique deal, coming out on several occasions to help the selling dealership, from inventory to providing guidance, and Farid (Ahmad) was also very involved in facilitating the sale.”

Headquartered in Toronto, in six years, Dealer Solutions said that it has advised on the closing of over 115 dealerships.

“We provide our clients with the highest level of service, guidance and support, through all steps of the buy-sell process,” said Farid Ahmad, chief executive officer of Dealer Solutions North America. “We are keenly aware of the intricacies of all types of dealership transactions, especially for family-owned groups who have such history and investment in the communities they’ve served, and our experience allows us to provide a seamless experience for both sellers and buyers.”

 

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Uber, Toyota to collaborate on autonomous cars

Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, 09:44 AM
By Auto Remarketing Staff
TOKYO  - 

With one executive calling it an “important milestone in our transformation to a mobility company,” Toyota Motor Corp. said it will build autonomous vehicles with Uber in an expansion to their partnership announced Monday, while also reporting a separate $500 million investment in the ride-sharing company.

The two companies said they aim to launch “autonomous ride-sharing as a mobility service at scale.” 

Uber and Toyota will each add their respective technologies to purpose-built Toyotas that will be used in Uber’s ride-sharing network.

The plan is to have third-party autonomous fleet operators (that both Toyota and Uber agree upon) own and operate these mass-produced autonomous cars.

The Toyota Sienna minivan platform will be the basis for the what’s dubbed the “Autono-MaaS” (autonomous mobility-as-a-service) fleet. The vehicles will include Uber’s Autonomous Driving System and Toyota Guardian automated safety support system, with the automaker also using its Mobility Services Platform connected car information infrastructure system.

 The companies have set 2021 as a target date for deploying pilot-scale vehicles on the Uber network.

“Combining efforts with Uber, one of the predominant global ride-sharing and automated driving R&D companies, could further advance future mobility,” Shigeki Tomoyama, who is executive vice president of TMC and the president of Toyota Connected Company, said in a news release.

“This agreement and investment marks an important milestone in our transformation to a mobility company as we help provide a path for safe and secure expansion of mobility services like ride-sharing that includes Toyota vehicles and technologies,” Tomoyama said.

Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said: "The deal is the first of its kind for Uber, and signals our commitment to bringing world-class technologies to the Uber network.

“Our goal is to deploy the world's safest self-driving cars on the Uber network, and this agreement is another significant step towards making that a reality. Uber's advanced technology and Toyota's commitment to safety and its renowned manufacturing prowess make this partnership a natural fit. I look forward to seeing what our teams accomplish together.”

 

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PODCAST: Cities face opportunity, 'interesting position' with mobility

Monday, Aug. 27, 2018, 03:34 PM
By Auto Remarketing Staff
RALEIGH, N.C.  - 

How can cities balance the long-term benefits of mobility with the possible short-term headaches?

What is the impact on revenue generation from taxis and public transit?

At last month's Automotive Intelligence Summit in Raleigh, N.C., STRATIM president Sean Behr discusses the "interesting position" that cities face when it comes to mobility services entering the city — and the opportunities available.

The full discussion can be found below. Download and subscribe to the Auto Remarketing Podcast on iTunes or on Google Play. 

You can also listen to the latest episode in the window below.

Catch the latest episodes on the Auto Remarketing Podcast homepage and on our Soundcloud page.

Please complete our audience survey; we appreciate your feedback.

 

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