SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

On Monday, TrueCar shared a handful or so of updates to its Dealer Pledge initiative for 2017 and said these enhancements will be the “centerpiece” of its efforts at the NADA Convention & Expo later this month.

The company launched its Dealer Pledge in March to address concerns from TrueCar Certified Dealers. Among the six updates for 2017 is version 2.0 of its Sales Analyzer analytics tool.

The upgraded tool will include an interactive zip code map and feature new intelligent market segmentation by Competition Zone.  

Another is specifically related to pre-owned.

To help used-car operations at dealerships, TrueCar is airing advertisements around pre-owned. Used cars represent 30-plus percent of dealer sales from their leads, the company said.

Other changes include the following:

  • To give dealers higher quality leads that convert quickly, adding Car and Driver and Sam’s Club as partners and text/email verification.
     
  • Dealer Summits for training and best practices
     
  • Dealers can post their marketing assets and YouTube videos on TrueCar.
     
  • Coming this year: dealers will be able to price at the VIN-level.

“As a sign of our commitment to dealers, we’re keeping the Pledge alive in 2017. Throughout the year, we will continue to make changes to our business and update our Pledge based on ongoing Dealer feedback,” TrueCar president and chief executive officer Chip Perry said in a news release.

“We want our dealers to view the Pledge as a living roadmap for addressing dealer concerns, and we welcome all of our dealers’ comments and ideas,” Perry continued.

TrueCar is also continuing its $50K Challenge at NADA to help veterans. The company is donating $150 for every visitor to its booth, up to $50,000.