Tekion is one of many companies that is providing innovations to the DMS landscape. The company recently announced a partnership with General Motors to power their EV digital retail tool. Today on CBT News, host Jim Fitzpatrick speaks with Jay Vijayan, Founder and CEO of Tekion, about the partnership with GM and the role of DMS in the current automotive market.
Vijayan begins the conversation by discussing the rapid growth of digital retailing. He says that consumers like to feel like they are in control of their buying experience. According to Vijayan, digital retailing is part of the holistic solution to give automotive consumers the best opportunity to feel in control when purchasing vehicles. Channels to make this possible exist both in the showroom and through the online retailing experience.
Vijayan then shares his thoughts on the pushback towards digital retailing. Many dealers believe that business will return to the showroom in a post-COVID world. Vijayan says it’s an, “evolution process.” He says change is a challenging aspect of the industry, but it is necessary to spark growth.
While digital retailing is growing, Vijayan believes the buying process for a vehicle will never go completely online. Customers still want the experience of going into the showroom, sitting in the vehicle, feeling how it drives, and negotiating prices. Vijayan says the real issue lies in the excessive time it takes to complete the transaction of a vehicle. Customers only spend 10-15 minutes experiencing the product they are looking to buy, but the total time in the dealership can sometimes exceed four hours.
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Vijayan concludes the conversation by discussing the state of DMS in the current automotive market. His company, Tekion, is using advanced technologies to make transitions smooth. Tekion uses one platform to run an entire dealership system with an AI engine that personalizes the consumer experience. Dealers are able to utilize Tekion’s Automotive Retail Cloud (ARC) to facilitate the entire vehicle sales cycle online.
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