A trio of connected global OEMs is pushing more resources into streamlining the vehicle-purchase process with improved, cloud-based technology. Alliance Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, announced a new investment in digital technologies and services by investing in Tekion, a U.S. company that seeks to bring connected digital experiences to automotive retail through machine learning […] [Read More]

Cognomotiv, a provider of real-time data services that certify the safety, security and proper functioning of modern vehicles at runtime, recently introduced its board of advisers; a group that includes former high-ranking executives at General Motors and Enterprise Holdings. The company highlighted this team of entrepreneurs and industry luminaries will bring deep automotive, cybersecurity, technology and […] [Read More]

vAuto said Wednesday it has purchased used-car reconditioning management platform iReconCars and is relaunching it as iRecon. Co-founders Mike Boyd and Micah Tindor will stay on with vAuto parent company Cox Automotive. Boyd will be senior director of business enablement for iRecon, and Tindor will be business operations director for iRecon. The iRecon platform is […] [Read More]

The concept of market-based stocking, appraising, and pricing has become common place in the retail automotive industry over the past decade. The basic concepts behind market-based stocking makes sense on a macro level; it is very demand-based.  If consumers are purchasing certain vehicles in your market, you should source those vehicles because they are more likely to […] [Read More]

Elcometer, an inspection equipment design, manufacturing and supply company for the automotive and protective coatings markets, has moved into its new North American headquarters and training facility. Based in Warren, Mich., Elcometer’s new 22,000-square-foot North American headquarters at 6900 Miller Drive provides office space for sales and technical support teams and accommodates its ISO 17025 test […] [Read More]

Dealer-to-dealer digital auction platform TradeRev announced several executive appointments on Tuesday, including new roles for Kayne Grau and Keith Crerar.  Grau, formerly president of Data as a Service at TradeRev parent KAR Auction Services, has been named executive vice president, U.S. and commercial sales for TradeRev. Crerar has been named executive vice president of global operations […] [Read More]

About one year after Hyundai rolled out its Hyundai Shopper Assurance program to Hyundai dealers nationwide, the automaker is starting national advertising for the program on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 3). And it's turning to actor Jason Bateman to spread its message. Hyundai’s 60-second first-quarter Super Bowl ad will star Bateman and show what the automaker […] [Read More]

NextGear Capital has rolled out its new Self Reconciliation feature nationally, available through the Account Portal. The company says the Self Reconciliation functionality simplifies the necessary floorplan auditing process. In releasing the feature, NextGear noted it will help dealers who could be spending their time and energy focused on activities that benefit their customers and […] [Read More]

Black Book pinpointed the reason why it’s been a brisk start to 2019 in the lanes. Reinforced by the assessment of an auction general manager in the Southeast, Black Book executive vice president of operations Anil Goyal described the current wholesale market situation in the latest Market Insights report released on Tuesday. “Lower floors at the […] [Read More]

So how did the certified pre-owned sales market shake out in Canada last year? Here is a glimpse, based on sales results shared by automakers.  Mercedes-Benz Canada posted an all-time high of 13,833 certified sales in 2018, up 3.7 percent. The year included six record months and certified sales at a 76.1-percent penetration, according to […] [Read More]