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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — MobiDrives shared recent data that indicates 40 percent of all mobile devices in use today are smartphones, with that saturation expected to climb to 90 percent by 2012.

Company executives believe they have a technology platform that can help dealers better harness business development possibilities created through consumer smartphones. MobiDrives contends its application goes beyond limitations officials think are associated with text messages and mobile websites.

MobiDrives is an application that consumers can download directly to their device such as an iPhone or BlackBerry. The company explained the customized application can allow dealers to push real-time messages and campaigns to consumers without being intrusive. Furthermore, they said the solution can be integrated directly into the dealer's DMS, broadening the marketing scope of lot inventory and enhancing statistical analysis.

"We have created our solution that is tailored to the way dealerships do business and to alleviate the customer's biggest headaches when purchasing or servicing their vehicle," MobiDrives chief executive officer Jim McDavid stressed to Auto Remarketing.

"We have done this by tapping into the collective firsthand knowledge we have as a leadership team from having ‘real retail' automotive dealership experience in addition to our dealer consulting experience," McDavid continued.

"We are not a technology company creating an app to generate income; we are an automotive company looking to revolutionize the way customers communicate with dealerships and the way dealerships communicate with their customers," he added.

The company went on to articulate several elements to how MobiDrives can operate differently than other available solutions.

—Executives reiterated that MobiDrives is a true application that operates on a customer's phone, not a Web-based application platform. They contend this difference makes the MobiDrives capacity much deeper.

—Unlike text messages, the company said the application can allow for communication directly from a dealership portal through MobiDrives' server and onto the customer's phone. It eliminates any extra cost for text messages that could be incurred by the dealer or customer so as many or as few campaigns can be integrated.

—Because of DMS integration, the company pointed out that real-time service reminders can be triggered to alert customers of upcoming services and/or past due service requirements on a vehicle.

—A dealership's daily updated inventory is located within the application for the consumer to search at any time.

MobiDrives launched the solution at a Florida dealership in late May, and McDavid added that delivery to several dealer groups was expected to be completed in early June.

The company used the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention & Expo this past February in Orlando, Fla., as a chance to spread word about the launch and MobiDrives' capability.

"The MobiDrives solution was well received at NADA by dealers and created much interest from the DMS providers and various dealer support companies," McDavid stated.

"NADA was a great venue to explore the overall opportunity for the product as well as gage the potential competition in the mobile space," he continued. "We spent a fair amount of time speaking about the product, its functionality and the long-term potential to impact profit and customer loyalty."

McDavid admitted that often the same questions came from several dealers in Orlando.

"The main questions fielded at NADA were about our time line to delivery, when will the product be ready and when can we take delivery," McDavid said.

"Most dealers understand the sweeping change in dealer-to-customer communication; they get it," McDavid insisted. "There were other question concerning product training, how do they get their customized application onto their customer's phones, and what is the learning curve for their employees to capitalize on the opportunity."

MobiDrives attempted to alleviate those concerns by doing a marketing blitz since the NADA event. The company also looked to leverage the experience of the executive team, led by McDavid. On average, at least 15 years of industry knowledge is possessed by each individual within the company that came together in the latter half of last year.

"After spending the past 30 years of my life in the automotive industry, I understood the importance, as well as the challenges dealers faced trying to stay connected with their customers," noted McDavid, who most recently was vice president of North American sales for JM Family Enterprises.

"We recognized the disconnection between automobile dealers and their customers from two perspectives — time and communication," he went on to highlight. "The ultimate goal of every dealer is creating customer loyalty. To do this you must make it easy, painless, and fast to do business with your dealership. We feel the application can significantly reduce the transaction time in both sales and service.

"Today, over 40 percent of dealer customers have smartphones, and that is the single fastest growing segment in the world," McDavid pointed out. "By 2012, 90 percent of their customers will have smartphones. This being said, we formed MobiDrives to capitalize on this opportunity."

McDavid remains confident that store management will recognize what MobiDrives can provide dealers — a new way to use technology to move vehicles or keep service bays busy.

"What will separate MobiDrives from the competition and keep us at the forefront of the mobile automotive space is our overall understanding of what makes a dealership click," he emphasized. "We have the ability to execute at a level that dealers have come to expect from their partners."