July 15, 2018 — CDK Global will announce Monday morning it is acquiring the auto retail industry’s leading customer relationship management firm ELead1One, according to several sources familiar with the deal. The acquisition checks off several boxes for CDK while filling a big product hole — a viable integrated CRM platform with significant market share.… Continue Reading
July 3, 2018 — The Banks Report has compiled a list of 32 different companies providing aspects of the digital retailing/online transaction process in the automotive industry. The list has grown since our initial report in January on digital retailing. In addition, TBR is putting together an analysis of what’s actually working on the online… Continue Reading
July 3, 2018 — Reynolds and Reynolds and CDK Global counter-sued Authenticom last week alleging the Wisconsin-based firm participated in cyber piracy, trade secret theft and fraud. The counter-suits are the latest in an ongoing legal battle in which as many as four vendors and 25 dealers have accused Reynolds and CDK of antitrust violations.…
April 17, 2018 — Online used vehicle retailer Carvana announced this morning it has acquired Car360, an Atlanta-based start up that developed a mobile app with one the first commercially available uses of 3D computer vision, machine learning and augmented reality technology for the automotive industry. The acquisition adds 3D and augmented reality technology to the… Continue Reading
April 10, 2018 — Leucadia National Corporation announced yesterday it is selling its equity and real estate interests in dealer group Garcardia to the Garff family, its partners in the joint venture that began in 2006. Leucadia, a publicly traded holding company (LUK – NYSE) holds a 75% interest in Garcadia, which includes 28 dealerships…
April 4, 2018 — A flurry of announcements during the week of the annual National Automobile Dealers Assn.’s convention in late March capped what has been a busy first quarter for M&A activity for automotive retail vendors this year. The 17 investments and acquisitions through March puts the industry on a pace to nearly double… Continue Reading
March 30, 2018 — On the wall outside the executive conference room at Cars.com’s headquarters, is a mural. It’s a picture of a two-lane road in the forest that bends abruptly to the left. The turn — which is a bit misty — is so sharp, we can’t see what’s beyond the bend. CEO and… Continue Reading
(Republished from LinkedIn) March 21, 2018 — There’s a narrative being pushed at conferences, in headlines, on social media, in studies or customer surveys and in investor meetings that the dealership model is not long for this earth. And this mindset is starting to take hold within the industry itself — consultants, vendors and even… Continue Reading
March 6, 2018 — Despite industry perception that dealership consolidation is on the rise, buy-sell activity of U.S.-based stores declined in 2017 for the second consecutive year, based on data compiled by The Banks Report. Even with the downward trend the last two years, the buy-sell market has been vibrant since 2013 as the industry… Continue Reading
February 26, 2018 — We’re still not through February but there have been 14 investments, acquisitions and mergers already this year with vendors in the automotive retail space, up from two in the first quarter of last year. Seven of the deals have been in the online transaction space where investments have continued a frenzied…