CDK Global

As the automotive industry moves to an all-electric future, the race is on to staff up and stack up EV-capable service operations to meet growing consumer needs and expectations. Service managers are and have been concerned about staffing shortages and retention for years. Today, training existing technicians to support the coming wave of EV maintenance and repairs is also top of mind for everyone in the service bays.

The verdict is in: Consumers enjoy shopping for cars on their smartphones and computers. So how can dealers embrace it?

Traditional approaches won’t work in this information age. One change that might be difficult to let go of is pushing consumers to show up at the dealership early in the buying process. Pressuring every lead to come into the store doesn’t cut it anymore. A better approach is to adapt the car buying journey to meet new consumer needs. This can be achieved with a two-point strategy.

Earlier this month, thousands of customers and industry insiders participated in CDK CONNECT where they were given a customized view of automotive retail from CDK Global leaders Brian MacDonald — President and CEO, Barb Edson — EVP and Chief Marketing Officer and Sanjay Almeida — EVP and Chief Product Officer. Now, the virtual event is available for anyone who couldn't attend live.

Replay CDK CONNECT 2023

As staff turnover continues to plague dealerships, implementing modern technology could be the saving grace to attracting millennial talent. The industry needs to cater to this group. After all, millennials are the largest working generation. Millennials, broadly categorized as those born between 1980 and 1994, represent 35% of the total U.S. labor market.

The automotive industry is seeing a paradigm shift. While the power of brick-and-mortar showrooms remains undeniable, the convenience and efficiency of researching and shopping online is revolutionizing how cars are sold. According to our most recent Friction Points Study, 84% of dealers have integrated some form of online digital retailing, but surprisingly, only 30% actively include it in their showroom experience. It's time for a change.

In a world where consumers expect every purchase to be fast and easy, speeding up the car buying process is key to remaining competitive and earning customer loyalty. It’s a big plus that more dealers are moving steps of the purchase process online to cut down on time spent in-store. However, the F&I (Finance and Insurance) office remains a sticking point.

Hack is a four-letter word for a good reason and why dealerships are on high alert now, more than ever, to protect their digital operations from cybercriminals. Don’t think it’ll happen to you? Stats on dealership cyberattacks over the last year might change your mind.

For this 2023 State of the Cybersecurity e-book, we compiled data from dealership personnel and market research based on a recent survey conducted by CDK Global.

As inventory worries start to resurface alongside labor difficulties, car buyers still found it relatively easy to buy a new car in September. In our monthly survey, 83% of new car buyers said the overall process of buying their vehicle was easy. That’s up from 82% last month and close to the average we’ve seen since our tracking started in July 2022.

Today, the ideal desking process is built around the modern retail experience that includes the work a customer does online, increases price transparency, and still delivers the highest possible gross for every deal.

As automakers continue to churn out electric vehicles (EVs) to compete with Tesla, the share of EVs keeps building. Yet, shoppers remain confused about nearly every aspect of this vehicle class. In the EV Confusion Carries On white paper, CDK Global looked at what makes EV shoppers unique in today’s automotive market and attempted to understand what’s contributing to this EV ambiguity.