With dealer groups in mind, Spireon has made updates to its Kahu connected car solution that are aimed at helping multi-store dealers improve inventory management, facilitate trades and increase visibility concerning activity outside of the lot.

Spireon announced Tuesday that it has made enhancements to Kahu to provide dealer groups with tools they can use to better mitigate risk, optimize operations and boost sales numbers. With Kahu, dealers can turn their units into connected cars so that they can view and manage inventory from their desktop or mobile device.

“While U.S. auto sales have remained steady in 2018, the market continues to consolidate as dealer groups seek greater efficiencies and new opportunities to grow profits,” Spireon vice president of product management Sunil Marolia said in a news release.

“And although the latest release of Kahu has been enhanced for dealer groups, independent dealers can also benefit from the streamlined operations, increased sales effectiveness, reduced risk and increased customer loyalty generated by Kahu. Once dealers have the power of Kahu driving their business, they can’t imagine running it any other way.”

On top of newly added test drive analytics, Spireon said that the latest features it has built into Kahu can provide dealers with streamlined portfolio and inventory management, account transfer for seamless dealer trades and mobile views of inventory age, the company said.

Furthermore, the company said that standard lot management features like real-time location tracking and geofencing can make Kahu a profitable add-on that consumers enjoy, as well. And once a car buyer leaves the lot, dealers can use mileage data to accurately target them for service needs, lease renewals and trade-ins.

Kahu’s new features include the list of seven enhancements below:

• Centralized Portfolio Management—Multi-store dealer groups can view inventory, vehicle location, battery health and test drive data, for all stores with a single login.
• Simple Inventory Transfers—Dealers can transfer Kahu vehicles between stores more conveniently.
• Enhanced Mobile Views—Improved user interface and added details on individual vehicles can help increase operational efficiency, and iPhone users can access updated maps with more accurate satellite views for walking directions when locating vehicles for test drives.
• In-App Inventory Aging—Kahu can identify vehicle age along with trim details to help dealers optimize inventory turnover.
• New Analytics Dashboard and Reports— Kahu can give insight into test drives, inventory mix, aging and other vehicle data top help dealers optimize inventory and pricing based on consumer interest.
• Dedicated Recovery Hotline—There’s a new recovery hotline that dealers can use to further protect from losses.
• Expanded DMS Integration – Kahu now supports 80 percent of the franchise dealer market through integration with Reynolds & Reynolds and CDK Dealer Management Systems.