American Honda Finance, Dealertrack Technologies Form Exclusive Partnership
LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. — Along with unveiling several mobile
solution offerings during the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention
& Expo this past weekend, Dealertrack Technologies and American Honda
Finance Corp. formed an exclusive, long-term strategic partnership
agreement.
Officials highlighted the deal is meant to create and
maintain a cutting-edge sales financing process, including a vehicle/loan origination
solution for Acura and Honda automotive and powersports dealers in the United
States.
As part of this relationship, Dealertrack said it will make
a significant investment and will collaborate with AHFC to design and develop
the solution with a strategic focus on streamlining the vehicle sales financing
process, while improving the overall customer buying experience.
In addition to processing credit application data between
AHFC and Honda and Acura dealers, the solution will incorporate innovative new
technologies and an integrated sales, F&I and contracting workflow.
"We are excited to support American Honda Finance
Corporation's goal to help drive efficiency throughout the vehicle purchase and
finance experience for dealers, all while improving the automotive and
powersports retailing experience for consumers," said Mark O'Neil, chairman and
chief executive officer of Dealertrack Technologies.
AHFC vice president David Paul added, "We are committed to
meeting the evolving needs of our dealers and customers. This strategic
partnership will solidify our development efforts and enable us to provide
effective digital workflow technologies in every transaction.
"With unparalleled expertise, Dealertrack is perfectly
positioned to support our efforts to execute our long-term vision of setting
new industry standards and optimizing dealership and brand loyalty," Paul went
on to say.
Officials explained the new workflow solution is expected to
roll out in multiple phases over the next two years. They added information
regarding the financial impact of this transaction is included in the
Regulation FD Disclosure on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Dealertrack Previews Mobile Dealership Innovations
Meanwhile at NADA's annual gathering this past week in
Orlando, Fla., Dealertrack Technologies previewed the company's latest
offerings designed to help dealers mobilize their businesses, including eMenu
for iPad as well as DMS Mobile Reporting.
The new eMenu for iPad app is expected to be available to
dealers in the United States in the second quarter of this year. The solution is
designed to provide dealers with a new interactive tool supported with dynamic
content, including videos, product descriptions and images, to consistently
present consumers with a full array of insurance and other aftermarket product
options.
DMS Mobile Reporting, which should be available this
quarter, is meant to allow dealers subscribed to the Dealertrack DMS Advanced
Reporting tool to create, review and manage reports with customized dashboard
analytics and dynamic charts using unique, real-time data sets directly from
their mobile device.
"Mobile technology has quickly become an integral part of a
dealer's workflow, and will be an even stronger, business-critical tool for
dealerships in the future," said Raj Sundaram, group president of dealer solutions
at Dealertrack Technologies.
"Dealertrack is committed to continuing to grow and
diversify its line-up of mobile tools and apps to help dealers better manage
their businesses, improve efficiencies and enhance the overall retail
experience in North America," Sundaram continued.
"Dealers in the United States and Canada have been rapidly
embracing Dealertrack's mobile solutions," he went on to say. "For example,
since introducing our Dealertrack Mobile application at last year's NADA show,
there are now more than 20,000 users at more than 10,000 dealerships in North
America."
The company emphasized these new iPad- and Windows-based
mobile applications are part of a growing list of mobile solutions from
Dealertrack Technologies designed to help dealers make smarter business
decisions, better manage their dealerships and more effectively engage with
shoppers.
In addition to these new applications that were previewed at
NADA, other mobile solutions from Dealertrack include:
—Dealertrack Mobile for Dealers: A mobile application that can
enable dealers to securely manage and monitor finance and consumer credit
application activities in real-time from their mobile device. It's available
for Android and iOS iPad and iPhone in the U.S. and iOS in Canada.
—Dealertrack Mobile for Lenders: Similar to the dealer
version, this mobile application can allow lenders to monitor credit
application and financing status for their dealer partners in the U.S. and
Canada.
—TrueTarget Mobile: A fast, comprehensive mobile appraisal
tool that can combine current retail and industry data from AutoTrader.com,
Cars.com and eBay Motors, as well as MMR, NADA and Black Book to provide the
latest in-depth market insight and metrics for vehicles. The tools also can allow
dealer to directly sync vehicle information, including photographs and descriptions,
with their website. That feature is available in the U.S. only.
—Mobile Websites: Innovative platform and tools for the
creation, management and maintenance of mobile dealer websites, again for U.S. dealers
only.
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