Personalized search offers dealers greater speed, more relevant results and accuracy

ATLANTA – Dealers looking for better online search results need to look no further as a result of Manheim’s launch of the automotive industry’s first intelligent search for wholesale inventory on OVE. This capability will reduce search time and deliver more accurate and personalized search results to clients using OVE, a digital channel within the Manheim Marketplace, a first-of-its-kind, omni-channel experience.

“We listen to our clients and are fully committed to making ongoing upgrades to ensure they can easily and efficiently transact with us in a digital environment that they trust,” said Zach Hallowell, vice president, Manheim Digital Marketplace and RMS Automotive. “We will continue evolving our industry-leading digital assets to anticipate and meet the needs and preferences of buyers and sellers. Our goal is to enable clients to make faster, smarter decisions through a modern, personalized online experience.”

With around-the-clock access to the world’s largest digital inventory, OVE is the one place to search more than 100,000 vehicles daily from commercial and dealer inventory, independent auctions and Manheim. In addition to seeing adjusted Manheim Market Report (MMR) pricing, clients can access condition reports, post-sale inspections and other assurance products on OVE to boost buyer and seller trust and confidence in online transactions.

As an integral element in the Manheim Marketplace, OVE serves 66,000 active users and 900,000 monthly visits, while handling over 500,000 competitive marketplace transactions annually beyond the off-lease, grounding dealer purchase.

Personalized vehicle recommendations

OVE’s intelligent search uses machine learning in order to learn clients’ behaviors and preferences over time. The new search shows results in order of most relevant to that client and offers more personalized vehicle recommendations specific to each buyer. Clients can sort search results by Relevance, Newly Listed, % of MMR or 11 other parameters. In the future, the continuously-learning search engine will start taking clients’ bid and purchase history into account in order to serve up increasingly more relevant inventory recommendations over time.

Accurate, optimized search results

The new search provides a comprehensive set of search enhancements that optimize the presentation of information on each listing, ensuring that clients receive the search results that they expect. Search filters display the number of matching vehicles for each attribute, allowing clients to refine their search with key information at a glance. A “new listings” indicator appears for vehicles that have not been re-listed by the same seller and VIN, and new listings are presented first whenever clients run a saved search. Additionally, a live countdown timer appears for listings that will expire in less than 24 hours.

Fast, flexible search experience

With a new auto-complete feature, clients can quickly see matching inventory prepopulate as they type in the search field. With just a few keystrokes or taps, OVE’s enhanced search capability matches inventory, sellers, auction locations and key vehicle attributes such as color and location.

About Manheim North America (www.manheim.com)

Manheim® is North America’s leading provider of vehicle remarketing services, connecting buyers and sellers to the largest wholesale used vehicle marketplace and most extensive auction network. Through 127 traditional and mobile auction sites and diverse digital channels, the company helps dealer and commercial clients achieve business results by providing innovative end-to-end inventory solutions. Approximately 18,000 employees enable Manheim to register about 8 million used vehicles per year, facilitate transactions representing nearly $57 billion in value and generate annual revenues of $3 billion. Headquartered in Atlanta, Manheim North America is a Cox Automotive™ brand. For more information, visit http://press.manheim.com.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling and owning cars easier for everyone. The global company’s 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, VinSolutions®, vAuto® and Xtime®, are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across 100+ countries and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion. coxautoinc.com

Maestro reduces time to buy and streamlines purchase process

DEARBORN, Mich. – March. 21, 2018 – Responding to a new generation of automotive buyers who expect to transact quickly with easy-to-use digital tools, FordDirect is unveiling Maestro, a new mobile sales app for Ford and Lincoln dealers that provides a seamless “greet to deliver” sales experience, whether the customer starts the shopping process online or in the dealership.

FordDirect, focused on helping dealers create smarter interactions and connected experiences for their customers, developed Maestro to create an improved consumer buying experience with the goal to reduce vehicle shopping to delivery time to under 90 minutes.  

“Maestro enables dealers to conduct their sales process in a collaborative, transparent manner through a single mobile device, streamlining the shopping experience and increasing customer satisfaction,” says Mike Jurecki, CEO, FordDirect.

Maestro is an iPad-based sales app that allows a single salesperson to handle the entire transaction from vehicle selection, trade-in valuation, credit app/financing and final contracting with minimal to no customer handoff. Engaging with the customer using a shared device creates transparency, a stronger relationship, saves time for the customer and provides the type of sales experience a customer expects and gets in other retail experiences.

Maestro also connects the online to in-store experience without missing a beat. Since the average internet shopper spends 13 hours conducting automotive research online (with 36 percent of this research on mobile devices), according to the J.D. Power 2017 U.S. New Autoshopper Study, consumers don’t want to start the process over when they arrive at the dealership. With Maestro, the salesperson can pick up the customer’s experience precisely where they left off; reducing customer time spent completing the sales process.

Maestro works hand-in-hand with Ford’s Ready.Shop.Go. online shopping platform. Consumers can begin the shopping experience in the convenience of their home, and the Maestro in-store app allows the local dealer to complete the transaction quickly and efficiently at the dealership. Unlike other mobile sales apps for dealers,

Maestro is a fully integrated digital retail experience that leverages dealer data, Ford and Lincoln vehicle and incentive data, and a customer’s online customer shopping preferences.

Dealers benefit from increased flexibility, efficiency and productivity since Maestro is highly integrated and has modular, permissions-based functionality customizable to dealer processes. 

Maestro is a comprehensive fully interactive tool that helps dealers gets customers into the vehicles they want more quickly and does the following:

·Connects online to on-lot shopping, capturing vehicle of interest and vital information that creates data continuity between an online and in-person experience.

·Integrates with CRM tools and allows for appointment/customer look-up/visibility of customer shopping actions. 

·Accesses and integrates VIN-specific data, photos, pricing and incentives, purchase/lease quoting, trade-in valuation and the credit application.

·Increases productivity of the sales team through shared customer sessions and a chat feature.

·Provides inventory lookup of all new, used and certified pre-owned inventory on the lot, in transit and through extended inventory trade partners.

·Obtains trade-in valuation via Kelley Blue Book®, National Auto Dealer Association or Blackbook.

·Provides side-by-side financing/payment quotes by payment or budget and pricing comparison.

·Incorporates integrated online credit app with e-contract and e-signature through FordDirect’s partnership with RouteOne.

DrivingSales continues to scale growth of its Human Capital Management platform as a natural extension of its industry-leading role in maximizing the value and performance of dealership employees.

SANDY, Utah, March 20, 2018 - DrivingSales LLC today announced that industry SaaS leader Cameron Darby has joined the company as its president and chief operating officer. Darby will be responsible for leading the day-to-day business and scaling the DrivingSales mobile HCM platform.

Darby, who has been on the DrivingSales board of directors since the company was a startup, brings with him a wealth of experience exactly suited to the opportunities DrivingSales faces. Most recently, Darby was the COO of DealerSocket, another automotive SaaS company, where he helped scale operations from serving 50 dealerships to serving more than 11,000 dealerships. Before joining DealerSocket, Darby held senior executive positions with New Horizons Computer Learning Centers and Viking Components.

“I’m thrilled to be announcing that Cameron is joining our team full-time,” said Jared Hamilton, founder and CEO of DrivingSales. “Our new SaaS platform has a lot of momentum, and I am confident that bringing on an experienced leader who knows our business, our industry and our customers will yield great things.” 

DrivingSales leads the retail automotive industry with its products to grow the performance and maximize the potential of dealership employees. Over the last few years, as a complement to its existing products, DrivingSales has developed the industry’s first mobile Human Capital Management platform. The platform automates critical management activities and employee career progression while incorporating the DrivingSales online training, advanced analytics and the industry’s largest automotive learning network. The HCM platform grows dealership performance and reduces turnover while saving managers time. It also maintains employee records for better dealer decision-making, delivering better ROI on dealers’ investments in their people.  

“DrivingSales is one of the most trusted brands serving dealers,” said Darby. “The mobile HCM platform it has built is an industry must-have and a critical tool in helping dealers drive efficiency for bottom-line growth. I’m looking forward to accelerating the growth of DrivingSales as it helps dealers get the most from their teams.”

About DrivingSales

DrivingSales was founded in 2008 by a third-generation dealer and serves thousands of dealerships as the industry leader at helping dealerships maximize the performance and ROI of their people.

DrivingSales offers the industry’s first mobile Human Capital Management platform to maximize performance through the entire employee life cycle. The platform automates new-hire onboarding, career mapping, training and performance reviews, all while acting as a system of record for all things people-performance-related for the dealership.

To extend the value of its core HCM platform, DrivingSales University offers 1,000 online training courses to help dealerships develop their talent. DrivingSales analytics provides advanced benchmarking capabilities, allowing dealers to compare their performance to their market and diagnose areas of improvement. The DrivingSales community is the largest online professional network for auto industry collaboration and DrivingSales events are known as the industry’s top place for innovative, in-person education. 

All-New Enterprise Module Debuts at NADA 2018, Drives Efficiency Across Rooftops

OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL (March 19, 2018) – vAuto is helping dealer groups gain greater operational efficiency through a more holistic view of their used vehicle inventory across rooftops with Provision Enterprise, an all-new module within the Provision system.

vAuto’s Provision offers dealer principals the most comprehensive used-vehicle market data and inventory management decision-making insights in the industry. With the Enterprise module, dealer principals and managers can more easily view and compare used vehicle inventory and metrics across individual rooftops and the group to identify opportunities to improve sales and profitability.

“In today’s margin-compressed environment, a dealership group can’t afford to compete against itself,” said Randy Kobat, senior vice president of Inventory Software Solutions for Cox Automotive’s Retail Solutions Group. “With Provision Enterprise, dealer principals will be able to unify rooftops and seamlessly oversee inventory management across their stores from one single dashboard, creating a more cohesive data and insights hub to maximize inventory potential.”

The new Provision Enterprise module includes:

Provision Enterprise Dashboard: Enables dealer groups to gain a live, top down view of important inventory insights and metrics across all rooftops.

Centralized Appraising: Allows for group-level input and oversight of appraisals at individual stores, and offers strategic recommendations to place a vehicle at a store based on inventory need and favorable market conditions. 

Transfer Advantage: Identifies “in” and “cross”-market opportunities where an individual store’s inventory may have greater retail potential at another rooftop based on market conditions.

From appraisal to transfer, all three components of Provision Enterprise work together to drive increased efficiency and profitability potential across locations. Through this end-to-end approach, a dealership group’s rooftops will be better equipped to compete together as one enterprise- a necessity in today’s hyper-competitive used-vehicle market. 

“The Enterprise dashboard makes it a lot easier and more efficient to compare stores and identify opportunities to improve,” said Troy Idom, digital director for the four-store Natchez (MS) Auto Group. “It’s become a regular part of our weekly meetings with each store. Managers can see everything in black and white, and know where they are and where they should be.”

vAuto will be debuting the Enterprise module as a no-cost enhancement for Provision dealers at the NADA 2018 convention in Las Vegas.

About vAuto

vAuto® provides innovative technology, tools and business intelligence to thousands of dealerships across the United States and Canada, helping them compete more effectively and increase new/used vehicle sales volumes and profits. Founded in 2005, vAuto revolutionized dealers’ used vehicle operations with the groundbreaking Provision® suite of tools. Leveraging The Velocity Method of Management®, pioneered by vAuto’s visionary founder, Dale Pollak, the Provision suite guides used vehicle acquisition, appraisals, pricing, merchandising and more based on real-time, local market supply-and-demand data. In 2014, vAuto combined the Velocity method with the power of incentive management to create the Conquest™ new vehicle inventory management and pricing tool. In 2016, vAuto launched Stockwave to serve as the foundation for a suite of wholesale inventory acquisition solutions. Headquartered near Chicago, Illinois, vAuto is a Cox Automotive™ brand.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling and owning cars easier for everyone. The global company’s 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, VinSolutions®, vAuto® and Xtime®, are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across 100+ countries and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion. coxautoinc.com.

 CHICAGO, March 20, 2018 -- LotLinx, the industry’s #1 Automotive artificial intelligence (AI) announced today that Jim O’Sullivan will join the company’s board of directors, adding senior leadership and an accomplished background to help its team drive measureable results for dealerships.

O’Sullivan’s career as an automotive executive spans 42 years, with a proven track record at Ford Motor Company and Mazda Motor Corporation. He previously served as President and CEO of Mazda North American Operations, where he was instrumental in the company’s global growth.

O’Sullivan currently serves as Managing Partner of motormindz, an automotive innovation engine focused on the discovery and implementation of emerging solutions and technologies aimed at solving current and future state challenges within all verticals of the industry. O’Sullivan joins LotLinx at a critical time as the company continues to grow into a key AI technology provider to the automotive industry.

“We are pleased to add Jim’s expertise and strategic vision to the team,” says Len Short, Founder of LotLinx. “Jim has been instrumental in helping a range of companies, from major automakers to smaller startups. His diverse background, unique insight and seasoned leadership will benefit us and our mission to help dealers find long-term success.”

“This is an exciting opportunity to provide thought leadership to one of the more innovative companies in the space,” says Jim O’Sullivan. “AI technology has affected every aspect of the car business, including how cars are bought and sold.  LotLinx has built a great organization, business model, and platform that provides real value to OEMs and dealers alike. I look forward to mentoring the team and helping the company build on its already great reputation.”

This month, LotLinx will join key industry players and executives at the 2018 NADA Expo in Las Vegas, March 22-25 at booth 5058C. To learn more please visit www.LotLinx.com

About LotLinx

LotLinx is an award-winning Automotive AI company dedicated to empowering automotive dealers and the agencies that work with them, up to the OEM level. LotLinx-VIN Specific™ AI can transform dealer results, dramatically increasing online engagement and net-new shoppers while eliminating digital advertising waste. Founded in 2012 and based in Chicago, LotLinx works with thousands of dealers including rooftops under the nation’s Top 100 auto groups, and recently expanded into the Canadian market. For more visit www.lotlinx.com

Account Portal adds feature to handle non-auction purchases and financing

CARMEL, IN (March 19, 2018) –  To streamline and speed up funding for eligible dealers purchasing vehicles through non-auction channels, NextGear Capital is announcing Rapid Pay—a feature withinAccount Portal, NextGear Capital’s account management platform.

For eligible dealers that want to floor plan non-auction inventory, such as dealer-to-dealer purchases or trade-ins, Rapid Pay expedites the process by accelerating funding, simplifying title management and giving dealers full visibility throughout the process – all within Account Portal.

With Rapid Pay, non-auction purchases are given priority for reviewing and processing funding requests. This means dealers receive their funding faster and can view the status of funding requests in real-time. Each non-auction unit floored through Rapid Pay is eligible for a pre-paid shipping waybill, allowing dealers to ship titles directly to NextGear Capital at no additional cost.  Rapid Pay truly makes the funding process simpler and allows vehicle titles to quickly get where they need to go.

“Dealers shouldn’t be limited by a cumbersome process to fund non-auction purchases with their line of credit,” said Sarah Lutey, NextGear Capital Director of Product Strategy. “With Rapid Pay, we give dealers enhanced control of their floor plan and a simplified process to finance the inventory they need to grow their businesses.”

With Rapid Pay, dealers are getting improved functionality, visibility and control over funding of their non-auction purchases. Now equipped with the latest technology for inventory finance, Rapid Pay offers the best real-time information, so that dealers can make the most informed financing decisions to acquire needed inventory.

Headquartered in Carmel, IN, NextGear Capital provides lending products and support services for the automotive remarketing industry in North America. For additional information about NextGear Capital, Rapid Pay and Account portal, please visit nextgearcapital.com or contact your local NextGear Capital representative.

About NextGear Capital

NextGear Capital is the largest independent inventory finance company in North America, providing flexible lines of credit for dealers to purchase new and used inventory at over 1,000 auto and specialty auctions and other inventory sources throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland. The company’s products and services allow dealers to floor plan nearly any type of remarketed unit in automotive retail, wholesale, salvage or specialty, including recreational vehicles and trailers, marine, power sports, used heavy trucks, auto salvage and auto daily rentals. With a customer base of more than 20,000 dealers, NextGear Capital also provides a robust array of services and support that allow dealers to acquire and sell more inventory, including state-of-the-art online and mobile account management tools, title services, records management and collateral protection. The company is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana and is part of the Cox Automotive group of companies, which includes Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim and vAuto. Visit nextgearcapital.com to learn more.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, software, financial, wholesale and e-commerce solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Autotrader®, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, vAuto®, Xtime® and a host of other brands. The global company has 33,000 team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion and approximately 60,000 employees. Cox Enterprises’ other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com. 

Industry’s Only Wholesale Guaranteed First Bid Gets Dealers Paid in Two Business Days

ATLANTA – Committed to giving dealers greater control and options for how and when they want to do business, Manheim is launching Manheim Express SM, a mobile app for dealers. Another 24/7 option within the Manheim Marketplaceä, Manheim Express is a fast, easy and self-service way for dealers to list and sell inventory right from their lots or in-lane in the world’s largest wholesale marketplace.

“Manheim Express is a whole new channel and a whole new way to do business in the Manheim Marketplace,” said Grace Huang, president, Cox Automotive Inventory Solutions. “We are bringing the power of the Manheim Marketplace to the dealer’s lot, in the palm of their hand. On top of that, we are launching the industry’s only wholesale guaranteed first bid and are integrating 3D and 360‑degree vehicle imaging technology that leapfrogs the competition.”

After completing a few quick steps in the Manheim Express mobile app, dealers will have all of the information they need to evaluate a vehicle so that they can decide to take a Guaranteed First Bid SM, list it in the Manheim Marketplace, order an inspection or consign it to a Manheim operating location.

Load Vehicle Info via VIN Scan – In the new and free Manheim Express mobile app, dealers simply scan the VIN and are immediately presented the vehicle’s value from Manheim Market Report (MMR), AutoCheck Snapshot vehicle history report data, and manufacturer build data (where available). This information provides dealers the necessary information to make smart decisions on taking vehicles in on trade.

Get a Guaranteed First Bid – Manheim Express offers the industry’s only wholesale guaranteed first bid (GFB). Driven from the industry-leading MMR, a minimum floor price is set and if the vehicle does not sell for the minimum floor price or greater after being listed in the Manheim Marketplace for 2 business days, Manheim will buy the vehicle at the GFB price. So, Guaranteed First Bid means that dealers know they can have a check in hand in two business days. Dealers can also be assured that their inventory is in the largest and most active market in the world, which experiences 58 million unique visits per year.

List to the Manheim Marketplace – Simplifying the listing experience, Manheim Express allows dealers to walk a car and create a listing complete with the industry’s first and best-in-class, 360-degree images that can be uploaded into the Manheim Marketplace within three minutes. Manheim is partnering with computer vision company Fyusion to enable dealers to walk cars and create immersive, interactive 3D images, while also being able to apply smart tags to any damaged areas in under 3 minutes.

“Our products are focused on creating intelligent 3D imaging,” said Radu Rusu, CEO of Fyusion. “Any dealer will be able to easily create a fully tagged interactive 3D image from their Android or iOS phone, that's viewable on any device - mobile or desktop.”

Order an Inspection – Manheim research shows that vehicles with a condition report from an independent inspector are three more times likely to sell online. From the app, dealers can order a condition report and an inspector will come right to their lot within 72 hours, making inspections easy and convenient.

Consign to Manheim Auction – If a dealer prefers to not sell the vehicle in any of the Manheim Digital Marketplaces, dealers can now send their inventory to the Manheim operating location of their choice via Manheim Express.

“Manheim Express is another example of how Manheim continues revolutionizing inventory wholesaling and how Manheim Marketplace is uniquely positioned to meet clients wherever they are – even off their lots,” said Huang.

Launching this summer, Manheim Express is one of several solutions that are being integrated into the Manheim Marketplace. Manheim Marketplace has a variety of flexible, customizable solutions that allow clients to buy and sell right off their lots. Comprising Manheim.com, OVE and now ManheimExpress.com as well as OEM-specific marketplaces, Manheim Marketplace is the largest and most active market in the world.  

Manheim will showcase this all-new way to do business with Manheim Marketplace via hands-on demonstrations at NADA:  https://www.coxautoinc.com/nada2018/manheim/

About Manheim North America (www.manheim.com) 
Manheim® is North America’s leading provider of end-to-end wholesale solutions that help dealer and commercial clients increase profits in their used vehicle operations.

Through its extensive physical, mobile and digital sales network, the company offers diverse solutions for inventory management, buying and selling, floor planning, logistics, assurance and reconditioning. With more channels and smarter tools, Manheim Marketplace offers the most comprehensive end-to-end solutions and services, enabling wholesale vehicle buyers and sellers faster and more efficient ways to connect and transact business how and when they want. In addition, Manheim provides industry-leading data and tools to improve client efficiencies and decision-making, while delivering a value-added customer experience.

Approximately 18,000 team members enable Manheim to offer 8 million used vehicles per year, facilitate transactions representing nearly $58 billion in value and generate annual revenues of more than $3 billion. Headquartered in Atlanta, Manheim North America is a Cox Automotive™ brand. For more information, visit http://press.manheim.com.

About Fyusion

Fyusion applies 3D computer vision and machine learning expertise to make images as intelligent as they are beautiful. Immersive, interactive photorealistic high definition 3D images are viewable on any mobile, desktop, VR or AR device - all captured using a smartphone or any other camera.

Capturing in 3D means that we give images powers beyond what’s possible with 2D photos & videos; from changing backgrounds & adding rich data tags, to visual search & damage analysis. No professional photographers or tools are needed - it’s immersive imaging at scale.

Based in San Francisco, Fyusion’s core visual technology is covered by over 50 patents and is empowering the growth of the most innovative, visual-centric businesses worldwide.

www.fyusion.com

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling and owning cars easier for everyone. The global company’s 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, VinSolutions®, vAuto® and Xtime®, are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across 100+ countries and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion. coxautoinc.com

vAuto Digital Assistant adds Amazon Alexa skill; vAuto’s Nexi To Debut at NADA Next Month

OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL (March 12, 2018) – vAuto is announcing another industry first—Nexi, the automotive industry’s first Digital Assistant for dealerships. Nexi will debut at the 2018 NADA Show in Las Vegas.

Through a skill for Amazon Alexa, available on Echo Devices, Nexi helps dealers access their inventory, sell cars and generate profit. The cloud-based service is capable of answering a full range of questions on inventory, local market data, operations and more.

“Dealers are incredibly busy and we’ve arrived at a time when voice-enabled assistance can help them multi-task and make the right decisions more efficiently and effectively,” said Dale Pollak, founder of vAuto and Executive Vice President of Cox Automotive. “Nexi is the industry’s first skill that helps dealers know the critical conditions and tasks that need their attention now. Nexi provides this information in the most efficient manner possible—by voice through the Amazon Alexa skill, as well as emails, text messages and notices within vAuto applications.”

The Boston Consulting Group and MIT Sloan Management Review published a study of more than 3,000 business executives, managers, and analysts in 112 countries and 21 industries, called Reshaping Business With Artificial Intelligence. Of the findings:

• Eighty-four percent of respondents say AI will enable them to obtain or sustain a competitive advantage. 
• Eighty-three percent believe AI is a strategic priority for their businesses today.
• Sixty-three percent believe the pressure to reduce costs will require their organizations to use AI in the next five years.

“Retail automotive is ripe for AI,” Pollak said. “Thanks to margin compression, dealers are working harder than ever while making less money. The answer to this problem is increased operational efficiencies, and Nexi helps dealers take a significant step in this direction.”

The Nexi AI-enhanced service will be offered at no additional cost to all vAuto customers who use Stockwave, vAuto’s proprietary solution to help dealers analyze their current inventory.

With Stockwave, Nexi can alert dealers when wholesale vehicles that meet a dealer’s profile and profit objectives are available. Over time, Nexi will also work with vAuto’s Provision and Conquest solutions to call out general inventory management tasks that need attention or are overdue.

About vAuto 
vAuto® provides innovative technology, tools and business intelligence to thousands of dealerships across the United States and Canada, helping them compete more effectively and increase new/used vehicle sales volumes and profits. Founded in 2005, vAuto revolutionized dealers’ used vehicle operations with the groundbreaking Provision® suite of tools. Leveraging The Velocity Method of Management®, pioneered by vAuto’s visionary founder, Dale Pollak, the Provision suite guides used vehicle acquisition, appraisals, pricing, merchandising and more based on real-time, local market supply-and-demand data. In 2014, vAuto combined the Velocity method with the power of incentive management to create the Conquest™ new vehicle inventory management and pricing tool. In 2016, vAuto launched Stockwave to serve as the foundation for a suite of wholesale inventory acquisition solutions. Headquartered near Chicago, Illinois, vAuto is a Cox Automotive™ brand.

About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling and owning cars easier for everyone. The global company’s 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, VinSolutions®, vAuto® and Xtime®, are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across 100+ countries and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion. coxautoinc.com

Photo Backgrounding Software Enables Dealers to Stand Out from the Crowd

Exton, Pa., February 26, 2018 – Amid a tightening market with fierce competition, automotive dealers have the potential to generate more customer engagement by optimizing photos of their online vehicle inventory. That is one of the key findings from new Cox Automotive research, which found that dealers benefitted from a 3 percent to 5 percent increase in views of vehicle detail pages (VDPs) when using backgrounded photos as compared to non-backgrounded photos.

The research, which looked at more than 1,600 Autotrader.com listings in the month of September 2017, suggests dealers gain an advantage from utilizing photo backgrounding software, which provides their online listings with a polished look while reinforcing dealership branding.

“When you take an unbelievable photo with a clean background, the car gets 100 percent of the online car shopper’s focus,” said Jason House, Executive General Manager of House Chevrolet Buick Cadillac in Owatonna, Minnesota.  “Photo Backgrounding separates my inventory from the competition and gives me a unique advantage in my market.  The best way to get a consumer to click on my vehicle is to show them clean photos with enhanced backgrounding!”

Dealers looking to put their best photos forward should consider utilizing Photo Backgrounding powered by HomeNet, which lets dealers or lot service providers automatically transpose existing photos on a pre-created background and then syndicate the optimized image to third party advertising sites. The Photo Backgrounding tool provides dealers with a wide range of backgrounding options, with the ability to choose from 17 standard backgrounds options and add image overlays that match dealership branding. 

“It’s no secret that attractive photos catch shoppers’ eyes, and that you only have a few seconds to make the right impression with a potential customer,” said Russ Daniels, Senior Manager of Product Marketing, HomeNet. “Dealers are always looking to reduce time to market while optimizing the quality of their online listings, and our solution enables them to significantly streamline the inventory merchandising process by removing the need to individually stage vehicles for the perfect shot.”

To learn more about Photo Backgrounding best practices and how it can drive customer engagement, visit www.homenetauto.com.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, financial, retail and wholesale solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Autotrader®, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, vAuto®, Xtime® and a host of other brands. The global company has 34,000 team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion and approximately 60,000 employees. Cox Enterprises’ other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com.

About HomeNet

HomeNet Automotive gets inventory out of your systems and in front of online shoppers.

Today’s car shoppers are researching, locating and evaluating cars online before they ever set foot in a physical dealership. Yet, dealers struggle to ensure inventory is consistently updated and distributed to all online destinations with speed, accuracy and quality.

At HomeNet, we help dealers and industry partners merchandise and distribute their inventory from one unified platform and seamlessly push this information to their own website and all their third-party advertising sources.

Based in Exton, PA, with offices across the U.S., HomeNet is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cox Automotive.

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