May 2, 2017 — Authenticom, a firm providing data integration services to car dealers, filed a lawsuit late yesterday against CDK Global and Reynolds and Reynolds alleging the two companies engaged in antitrust practices. The suit could have far-reaching implications — not only on the companies involved, but also on the entire automotive retail space. It’s another chapter… Continue Reading
April 6, 2017 — (UPDATE — SEE BELOW) Acquisition activity among automotive retail vendors has ground to a halt in the the first quarter this year, according to data compiled by The Banks Report. Other than Solera Holding’s purchase of the British-based Autodata the first week of January, there have been no investments, IPOs or acquisitions…
March 18, 2017 — Although 2016 saw a slight downturn in the number of transactions from 2015, dealership buy-sell activity the last three years has stayed fairly consistent, according to data compiled by The Banks Report. And 2017 is shaping up to be on par with the previous three years. From 2015 to 2016, the…
February 20. 2017 (UPDATED) — The industry had a scare last Thursday when it appeared that a large data breach occurred involving several dealer management system (DMS) providers and dealer groups. What actually happened was much more benign, and involved none of the DMS vendors. Nor did the event involve any sensitive personal data. The… Continue Reading
February 4, 2017 — In what may become the year’s biggest story in automotive retail, the long simmering battle over data access in the automotive retail world escalated yesterday when a third party vendor sued tech giants CDK Global, Reynolds and Reynolds and one of their joint ventures for engaging in antitrust practices. This is the first…
February 2, 2017 — As the National Automobile Dealers Assn. celebrated its 100 year anniversary at its annual convention in New Orleans last week, it capped an nine year period that might have been its toughest, yet finest hour. But 2017 brings a new set of daunting challenges. Playing Defense For the last nine years, the association…
January 16, 2017 — The Asbury Automotive Group is buying Hare Chevrolet and its affiliated companies — a collision center, an Isuzu dealership and a truck center. Hare Chevrolet, which sits a few miles north of Indianapolis in the town of Noblesville on State Road 37, is unique because it is the oldest family-owned transportation… Continue Reading
January 15, 2017 — Two words best describe this year’s Detroit Auto Show — Trump and autonomy. The vehicles? They were nearly an afterthought during press days at the North American International Auto Show (the show’s official moniker). Despite coming on the heels of a second consecutive record breaking year for sales, the mood on… Continue Reading
The autonomous and connected vehicle news coming out of the CES show this week in Las Vegas was fast and furious. The show’s automotive exhibit has become perhaps, the most important auto show in the country. In fact, CES’ growing popularity has forced both Los Angeles and Detroit to incorporate a mobility-related focus into their…
January 2, 2017 — M&A activity among automotive retail vendors for the year ended quietly with only four deals completed in the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, the 31 acquisitions and investments in 2016 surpassed the 30 in 2015. The four deals in the fourth quarter include (more information about the following deals are included in the…
